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FIA Announces Change in Leadership (Jan. 10, 2012)

The Futures Industry Association announced Jan. 10, 2012 the appointment of Walter Lukken, an industry executive with many years of experience in government, as president and chief executive officer. He will succeed John Damgard, who has been the head of the association since 1982. “We are delighted to announce this appointment. Walt is a tremendously talented individual with an extraordinary range of experience and expertise, and we are very fortunate to have someone of his caliber to lead the FIA at this important moment in its history,” said Michael Dawley, chairman of the FIA and co-head of futures and derivatives clearing services at Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Click Here For The Full Press Release

FIA Commends MF Global Trustee for Efforts to Release Customer Funds (Nov. 16, 2011)

Washington, D.C.—Nov. 16, 2011—The Futures Industry Association today released the following statement in response to the MF Global Trustee's most recent effort to release customer funds:

The Futures Industry Association fully supports the Trustee's expedited motion requesting the Court to approve an interim distribution to MF Global Inc.'s "cash-only customers" in an amount equal to 60 percent of such customers' cash balances. If granted, approximately $520 million will be released to the 21,000 "cash-only customers," for whom the past two weeks have been particularly frustrating. The Trustee's motion is an important step in our shared goal of assuring the prompt return of all customer property.
The FIA acknowledges the Trustee's substantial efforts, which have allowed him to make this motion. The FIA also appreciates the CME Group's commitment to guarantee any overpayment that may be made, which the Trustee has stated was a predicate to his decision to file this motion. The FIA welcomes the Trustee's pledge to make additional interim distributions "to the extent legally and practicably feasible" and we encourage the Trustee to rely on the CME's guarantee to request authorization to make such additional distributions expeditiously.

FIA Issues Statement Regarding MF Global

WASHINGTON, D.C. ―Nov. 9, 2011― The Futures Industry Association issued the following statement in response to the events involving the bankruptcy of MF Global.

The Futures Industry Association (FIA) is deeply troubled by the failure of MF Global (MFG) and the financial distress that the apparent shortfall in customer segregated funds has caused our members’ customers and the markets generally. Segregation of customer funds is the cornerstone that assures the financial integrity of our markets and any violation of these segregation requirements cannot be tolerated.

Since the appointment of a Trustee for MFG on October 31, FIA member firms have been working closely with all affected stakeholders, including the CME Group, ICE Clear US, ICE Clear Europe and other relevant derivatives clearing organizations, to effect the prompt and orderly transfer of customer positions to other futures commission merchants (FCMs).

FIA supports a full review of the circumstances that led to the failure of MFG and, in particular, the apparent shortfall in customer segregated funds. FIA recognizes that this apparent shortfall will delay the date by which customers will receive all of the funds that were on deposit with MFG. Futures customers cannot afford to have the funds they had deposited to support their positions held up while the claims process runs its course. FIA strongly encourages the Trustee, with the assistance of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the clearing organizations, to complete an interim accounting and facilitate the prompt return of all customer funds.

The FIA is the primary industry association for centrally cleared futures and swaps. Its membership includes the world's largest derivatives clearing firms as well as derivatives exchanges from more than 20 countries. For more information, please contact Joanne Morrison (jmorrison@futuresindustry.org) at 202.466.5460 or visit our website at www.futuresindustry.org.

Click here for the press release

Senate Confirms Mark Wetjen as CFTC Commissioner (Oct. 21, 2011)

On Friday, Oct. 21, the Senate confirmed by unanimous consent the nomination of Mark Wetjen to be a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for a term expiring June 19, 2016. Mr. Wetjen is currently an aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a position he has held since 2004. Once he is sworn into office, he will replace Michael Dunn, who has served as CFTC Commissioner since December 2004.

The Futures Industry Association issued the following statement in response to the confirmation.

"The FIA congratulates Mark Wetjen on the Senate's decision to confirm his nomination to serve as a CFTC Commissioner. Mr. Wetjen has assured Congress that he will listen to all viewpoints and gather the requisite information before reaching a decision on the many complex regulatory issues facing the agency. His commitment to a careful, measured and thoughtful process for consideration of regulatory matters is one that we can all endorse. We look forward to working with Mr. Wetjen and the other CFTC commissioners as they continue to build the new regulatory architecture for derivatives markets."
"The FIA also wants to commend Commissioner Michael Dunn for his tireless work at the CFTC and his many years of government service. Commissioner Dunn joined the CFTC in 2004 and served as acting chairman in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. As chairman of the CFTC's Agricultural Advisory Committee, he provided a seasoned voice and sound leadership on policy issues related to agricultural futures markets. The industry has lost a valued colleague and a dedicated public servant. We wish him well in the next phase of his career."

When Mr. Wetjen was nominated by President Obama in May, the White House released the following official biography: Mark P. Wetjen is currently Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor to Majority Leader Harry Reid in the U.S. Senate, a role that he has served in since 2004. Prior to serving in the Senate, Mr. Wetjen was a lawyer in private practice in Nevada and California. Mr. Wetjen earned his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law and his B.A. from Creighton University.

FIA Statement on Position Limits Rule and DCO Rules (Oct. 18, 2011)

John Damgard, president of the Futures Industry Association, issued the following statement on Oct. 18, 2011 in response to the approval of two Dodd-Frank rulemakings by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission:

Regarding the position limits rule:

It is quite troubling to see that three out of the five CFTC commissioners have such serious reservations about this rule. Commissioner Dunn even went so far as to say that he has not seen “any reliable economic analysis” to support the contention that position limits are necessary or effective in preventing excessive speculation. At best, position limits are a cure for a disease that does not exist, according to Commissioner Dunn. At worst, they may harm the very markets they are intended to protect. I could not agree more with his comments.

Of particular concern to us is the potential adverse effect on commercial entities that use derivatives to hedge price risk. The comments by the CFTC commissioners at today’s meeting appear to indicate that the rule will make it more difficult if not impossible for these entities to use legitimate and well-established methods for hedging their risks.

Regarding the DCO rules:

It is too early to tell what the massive clearing rulebook means. But our initial concern is that the rules seem too prescriptive. The science of risk management continues to evolve rapidly and risk exposures can change drastically in a very short period of time. We hope that this rule will not interfere with the ability of clearinghouses to adjust their risk management policies and procedures as they see fit.

FIA Welcomes IMF’s Findings that Speculators Should Not Be Blamed for Commodity Price Volatility

Washington, D.C. – Sept. 22, 2011 – The Futures Industry Association issued a statement today from FIA President John Damgard welcoming the International Monetary Fund’s findings in its World Economic Outlook that financial speculators are not to blame for volatility in the commodity markets.

“The IMF has wisely highlighted the important role that financial speculators have played in providing liquidity to commodity markets. As the IMF report says, recent research has not uncovered a ‘smoking gun’ pointing to speculators. It is prudent of the IMF to recognize there is not enough evidence to support urgent policy intervention.”

In its latest World Economic Outlook, which was released on Sept. 20, the IMF included a section addressing the arguments that increased speculation in the commodity derivatives markets caused the commodity price boom of 2003 to 2008. The IMF reviewed the evidence and concluded that commodity market fundamentals explain the price changes. It also concluded that investment inflows have added to market liquidity, which generally enhances rather than distorts price discovery.

The FIA is the primary industry association for centrally cleared futures and swaps. Its membership includes the world’s largest derivatives clearing firms as well as derivatives exchanges from more than 20 countries. For more information, please contact Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) or visit our website at www.futuresindustry.org.

Click Here for Full Text of IMF Report Pages 56-60 (7.7MB)

FIA Asks CFTC to Investigate Breach of Confidentiality (Aug. 25, 2011)

The FIA submitted a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission asking the agency to investigate whether any of its rules governing the handling of confidential data have been violated. Attached is a copy of the letter, which also was sent to the two Congressional committees that have jurisdiction over the CFTC. In the letter, the FIA expressed its very strong concern about the disclosure of confidential data about positions held by individual firms in the commodity derivatives markets in an article published in the Wall Street Journal on Aug. 18. The article, “As Oil Spiked, Many Traded,” stated that the data came from a list of position holders compiled by the CFTC. A member of Congress subsequently revealed that he provided this information to the newspaper. As stated in the letter, this incident “poses a serious threat to the confidence of market participants in the CFTC’s ability to protect proprietary information; raises troubling questions about the role of Congress in handling such information; jeopardizes the CFTC’s future ability to obtain cooperation in data collection and market surveillance; and undermines the agency’s ability to work cooperatively with its counterparts in overseas jurisdictions.”

Click here for FIA's letter to the Chairman

FIA Statement Regarding the Leak of CFTC Data

FIA President John Damgard issued the following statement in response to the publication in the Wall Street Journal of confidential data on positions held by market participants in the over-the-counter derivatives market. According to the newspaper, it was able to review a list compiled by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of firms active in the OTC crude oil market and the size of their positions as of June 30, 2008.

“While the details of how this information was publicly disclosed are not yet fully known, the fact that it occurred is a matter of the utmost concern. This type of incident will have a chilling effect on derivatives trading in the U.S. because market participants will be reluctant to take the risk that their positions will be exposed to the public—and their competitors. These disclosures could seriously jeopardize the CFTC’s ability to gather information from market participants and carry out its market surveillance mission. Congress historically has acted to protect sensitive information from disclosure and has built penalties for violating those protections into the Commodity Exchange Act and the Dodd-Frank Act. I hope that the authorities will investigate this incident and take whatever actions are necessary to prevent it from happening again.”

-- John Damgard, president, Futures Industry Association

FIA Statement on CFTC Anti-Manipulation Rule (July 7, 2011)

John Damgard, the president of the Futures IndustryAssociation, issued the following statement in response to today's approval bythe Commodity Futures Trading Commission of new rules prohibiting fraud andmanipulation in futures, swaps and cash commodity markets.

"We are disappointed that the final rules do notreflect the extensive comments submitted to the CFTC by the FIA and otherinterested parties, and we are concerned that the CFTC did not provide moreguidance on how it intends to apply the sweeping new powers that these ruleswill implement. We strongly support the CFTC's authority to pursue any and alldeliberate attempts to manipulate prices or defraud participants in thesemarkets, but the lack of clarity on how the broad new standards in the finalrules will be applied has the potential to chill legitimate trading and reducemarket liquidity."

FIA and ISDA Publish Documentation for Cleared Swaps (June 16, 2011)

Washington, D.C. – June 16, 2011 – The Futures Industry Association and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today announced the publication of the FIA-ISDA Cleared Derivatives Execution Agreement as a template that can be used by participants in the cleared swaps markets in negotiating execution-related agreements with counterparties to over-the-counter derivatives that are intended to be cleared.

Click here for the rest of the press release and agreement documents

Financial Industry Trade Associations Release Framework for a Global Legal Entity Identifier System (May 3, 2011)

A coalition of financial services trade associations on May 3 released a comprehensive set of requirements for establishing a legal entity identifier (LEI) system to aid regulators and industry in monitoring systemic risk. The trade associations noted that the requiremened document is meant to be an evolving solution that will be refined as others participate in the discussion on the topic.

"The accurate and unambiguous identification of legal entities engaged in financial transactions is foundational and critically important towards the improved measurement and monitoring of systemic risk by regulators and supervisors," the groups noted in the proposal. "A global standardized Legal Entity Identifier will help enable organizations to more effectively measure and manage counterparty exposure, while providing substantial operational efficiencies and customer-service improvements to the industry."

Click Here for Full Press Release
Click Here for Requirements Document

www.sifma.org/Legal-Entity-Identifier/Resources

FIA Elects Directors and Officers

WASHINGTON, D.C.—March 15, 2011—The Futures Industry Association today announced the election of board directors at its annual meeting in Boca Raton, Fla. Following the election, the new board elected the association’s officers and public directors. All directors will serve two-year terms unless otherwise noted.

Click here for the press release

FIA Announces Go-Forward Strategy (March 15, 2011)

In light of the ongoing structural changes prescribed by the Dodd-Frank Act and global regulatory reform, the Futures Industry Association announced today that it will implement a set of incremental and logical changes to its current activities to more effectively serve the financial services industry. FIA will expand its focus to include the swap clearing activities of its members and strengthen its global presence to help promote best practices and standardization in core international markets.

Click here for the press release
Click here for highlights from the press conference

Global Futures and Options Trading Rose 25.6% in 2010

Washington, D.C.—March 15, 2011—The Futures Industry Association today released a report on trading volume in the global listed derivatives markets. The report, which measures volume based on the number of contracts traded on derivatives exchanges, indicates that 22.3 billion futures and options contracts changed hands during 2010, an increase of 25.6% compared to 2009.

For the first time ever, Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of global volume traded during 2010. Total volume on the derivatives exchanges in that region of the world reached 8.86 billion contracts in 2010, an increase of 42.8% from the previous year. Exchanges in South Korea, China and India accounted for the majority of the volume in this region. North America, which had the largest share in 2009, came in second with 7.17 billion contracts traded in 2010, up 12.8% from the previous year.

The Korea Exchange was once again the world’s largest exchange by volume, due mainly to the continuing popularity of its Kospi 200 stock index options. The exchange’s total volume in 2010 was 3.75 billion contracts, up 20.8% from the previous year. Coming in second was CME Group, which includes the Chicago Board of Trade and the New York Mercantile Exchange. CME’s total volume in 2010 rose 19.0% to 3.08 billion contracts. Eurex, which includes the International Securities Exchange, was third with 2.64 billion contracts. NYSE Euronext, which includes the Liffe derivatives markets in Europe and the U.S. as well as the Arca and Amex options markets in the U.S., was fourth with 2.15 billion contracts, and the National Stock Exchange of India was fifth with 1.62 billion contracts. The 2010 volume report, which will be published in the March issue of Futures Industry, the FIA’s magazine, shows that the industry-wide rate of growth has returned to the levels seen before the severe turmoil in fixed income markets in 2008 and 2009. Worldwide volume in 2009 inched up 0.4% from the previous year, mainly because a sharp decline in the volume of fixed income futures in the U.S. and Europe offset continuing growth in other sectors of the markets. Looking back farther in time, the rate of growth was 13.9% in 2008, 30.8% in 2007, and 19.0% in 2006.

Foreign exchange was the fastest growing sector in 2010. Trading in futures and options based on currencies rose 142% to 2.40 billion contracts. This was partly due to a very rapid increase in the trading of retail-sized currency futures on exchanges in India. Equity index futures and options was the largest sector, with volume up 16.2% to 7.41 billion contracts.

This year’s report includes data covering 78 exchanges in 36 countries. In several cases, the FIA consolidates the data from affiliated exchanges. The FIA statistics may not include all of the exchanges currently offering derivatives. The data are provided voluntarily by exchanges and are subject to revision by the exchanges. Volume data reported in previous years therefore may not match data in the current report.

Copies of the report will be available on the following web page: http://www.futuresindustry.org/volume-.asp For more information, please contact Will Acworth

Click here for the 2010 volume

FIA PTG Recommends Risk Controls for Trading Firms (Nov. 4, 2010)

The FIA Principal Traders Group today released a report setting out a number of recommended risk controls for trading firms that have direct access to exchange matching engines. The report expands on a previous set of recommendations published in April 2010 and includes recommendations for risk controls applicable to trading operations and electronic trading systems. The recommendations covers such issues as access and oversight, pre-trade risk management, trading interruptions, post-execution and back office functions, physical security, electronic security, and business continuity.

Click here for a PDF of the recommendations

FIA Calls for Joint Industry-CFTC Cooperation to Develop Ownership and Control Reporting System (Oct. 7, 2010)

Washington, D.C. – Oct. 11, 2010 - The futures industry is working on an ownership and control reporting system that will serve as a practical and cost-effective alternative to the OCR system proposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Futures Industry Association said in comments submitted to the agency on Oct. 7.

“We recognize and support the CFTC’s need to develop a more robust trade practice and market surveillance program,” said FIA President John Damgard. “The FIA OCR Working Group has devoted considerable time to developing an industry solution that we hope will meet the Commission’s goal, but CFTC feedback is critical to the progress of the initiative.”

The FIA working group, comprised of 16 firms and all the U.S. exchanges, is actively involved in designing an industry-wide reporting solution that is expected to be submitted to the CFTC by the end of this month. The industry solution is designed to use data currently available in existing systems. It is also designed to be less costly and less time-consuming to implement, and have less impact on small entities.

The FIA comment letter reiterated the need for the CFTC to work with the industry and highlighted the significant costs and major structural changes that would need to take place to implement the CFTC’s current proposal. Members of the working group participated in a CFTC roundtable last month, outlining the challenges that the industry would face in collecting the data as proposed.

In July, the CFTC proposed the new ownership and control rules. The proposed rule requires “reporting entities” such as exchanges to collect ownership and control data from root data sources such as FCMs and correlate the data to the trade register on a daily basis. The CFTC included 28 different data items in the proposed rulemaking to help identify a customer. The CFTC is proposing to collect this information to enhance, among other things, its trade practice and market surveillance capabilities.

The Futures Industry Association is a principal spokesman for the commodity futures and options industry. The FIA's regular membership is comprised of approximately 30 of the largest futures commission merchants in the U.S. FIA's associate members include representatives from virtually all other segments of the futures industry, both national and international.

Click here for the comment letter

FIA Principal Traders Group Issues Statement on the Joint CFTC-SEC Staff Report on the Events of May 6

Washington, D.C.--Oct. 5, 2010--The FIA Principal Traders Group today issued the following statement regarding the publication by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission of their joint staff report on the market disruption that occurred on May 6, 2010.

The FIA Principal Traders Group welcomes the joint staff report and commends the staffs of the two agencies for their thorough analysis. By providing a factual basis for discussion, the report makes an important contribution to the public debate on how to make markets safer in the future.
One important step regulators can take, as highlighted in the recommendations on market access risk controls that the Futures Industry Association published in April, is to promote trade certainty in exchange error trade policies. The FIA PTG is pleased to note that the joint staff report identified trade certainty as one of its "lessons learned."
The events of May 6 were not acceptable. The FIA PTG looks forward to continuing our member firms' cooperation with regulators in helping to identify sensible steps that can be taken to improve market quality and make markets safer for all participants. In evaluating any potential policy responses to the events of May 6, the FIA PTG encourages regulators to base their deliberations on empirical evidence and rigorous analysis.

The FIA Principal Traders Group provides a forum for firms trading their own capital to identify and discuss issues confronting the PTG community. The group also works to define common positions on public policy issues and advance the group's collective interests through the FIA; improve public understanding of the constructive role played by the wide variety of individual trading groups in the exchange-traded derivatives markets; and promote cost-effective, transparent access to U.S. and non-U.S. markets.

The Futures Industry Association is a principal spokesman for the commodity futures and options industry. The FIA's regular membership is comprised of approximately 30 of the largest futures commission merchants in the U.S. The FIA's associate members include representatives from virtually all other segments of the futures industry, both national and international.

For more information, please contact Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) at (202) 466-5460 or visit the FIA's website at www.futuresindustry.org or the FIA PTG's website at www.futuresindustry.org/ptg.

FIA Statement on Passage of Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

WASHINGTON, D.C.—July 16, 2010—The Futures Industry Association today released the following statement by FIA President John Damgard following the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

“The FIA congratulates Congress and the President on this historic achievement. We especially thank Chairman Dodd and Chairman Frank for their leadership in this effort and the members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and Chairman Peterson and Chairman Lincoln for all their work on the derivatives title of the legislation. In the months ahead we will work with all the regulators by providing the information they need to ensure that our markets remain the safest and most competitive in the world. As an industry, we have many challenges ahead in educating users and transforming our infrastructures. We will draw on our expertise in the exchange traded and cleared markets to help move derivatives markets to the next stage.”

FIA and FIA PTG Support CFTC Co-Location Proposal

Click Here for Press Release

FIA Statement on Conclusion of House-Senate Conference Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C.—June 25, 2010—The Futures Industry Association today released the following statement by FIA President John Damgard following the conclusion of the House-Senate Conference Committee on the financial reform bill.

“The FIA congratulates the members of the House and Senate Conference Committee on their historic achievement and thanks the members for the hard work that went into the consideration of the conference report. This was a marathon process and it required tremendous persistence, patience and cooperation. We especially thank Chairman Frank and Chairman Dodd for their leadership in the conference, and the members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and Chairman Peterson and Chairman Lincoln in particular for all their work on the derivatives title of the legislation.”

2009 Derivatives Exchange Volume Webinar (March 18, 2010)

Presentation by Galen Burghardt, senior vice president and director of research at Newedge, and Will Acworth, editor of Futures Industry, on the global futures and options volume trends described in the March issue of Futures Industry. The presentation is based on the FIA's volume data as well as a quantitative analysis of volatility and liquidity trends in the benchmark interest rate and equity index contracts traded on the major U.S. and European exchanges.

2009 Derivatives Exchange Volume

FIA PTG Retains Jim Overdahl as Spokesperson (June 16, 2010)

The FIA Principal Traders Group announced today that Jim Overdahl, who has served as chief economist at both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has been retained as the group’s spokesman. He will be responsible for articulating the group’s views on public policy issues and improving public understanding of the role played by principal trading firms in the financial and commodity markets.

Click here for the press release

Futures Industry Coalition Opposes Bingaman Amendment to Wall Street Reform Bill (May 11, 2010)

A coalition of futures market participants and exchanges has urged the U.S. Senate to reject an amendment that would grant the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the authority to supersede the regulatory judgment of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over futures, swaps and options based on natural gas and electricity. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) drafted the amendment and is seeking to amend it to the financial regulatory reform bill now pending in the Senate.

“In our view, the Bingaman amendment will lead to additional, costly, and unnecessary, regulatory burden that provides no tangible benefit to markets or investors,” the coalition said in a May 11 letter to members of the Senate. “In fact, the amendment may lead to agency competitiveness and regulatory arbitrage, both of which are problematic given the Ferc's lack of regulatory experience over the important futures, options and swaps markets in electricity and natural gas.”

The coalition consists of CME Group, Commodity Markets Council, Futures Industry Association, IntercontinentalExchange, and Managed Funds Association.

Click Here for Full Text of Coalition Letter

FIA Issues DMA Risk Recommendations (April 27, 2010)

The FIA has issued a report that recommends a number of principles for managing the risks in direct access to exchanges. This type of arrangement has become increasingly common among derivatives exchanges in many parts of the world. The report recommends that exchanges establish certain risk controls and apply those risk controls across all trading firms. This will ensure a level playing field in terms of the latency of trading and avoid creating competitive pressures among clearing firms and trading firms to reduce the latency of trading by applying fewer risk controls. The report was drafted by a working group consisting of representatives from derivatives exchanges, clearing firms and trading firms. The report is the latest in a series of FIA initiatives that promote best practices in the listed derivatives markets worldwide.

Click here for the report

FIA Opposes CFTC Position Limit Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C.—March 18, 2010—The Futures Industry Association today filed a major comment letter in opposition to the adoption by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of its proposed speculative position limits on energy commodities. “The FIA strongly supports the CFTC’s ongoing efforts to prevent price manipulation and to conduct effective market surveillance to protect price discovery,” said FIA President John Damgard. “Based on our analysis, the proposed rules would harm these public interests and should not be adopted.”

Click Here for a Summary of the FIA Comment Letter
Click Here for the Full Text of the FIA Comment Letter

FIA announces board of directors for 2010

Click Here for the PDF

FIA Responds to the CFTC’s Proposed Position Limits Rule

Washington, D.C.—Jan. 14, 2010—The Futures Industry Association issued the following statement on behalf of FIA President John Damgard:

We commend the CFTC leadership for considering the proposed rule on position limits at a public meeting. It is helpful for the industry to hear the views of the Commissioners and staff on such an important and complex proposal.
Today’s discussion highlighted the key features of the CFTC’s proposed rules and raised questions about the potential impact on the regulated U.S. futures markets. We look forward to submitting a detailed response to the CFTC before the end of the comment period.
Several CFTC Commissioners expressed concern today about the potential harm that this proposal could cause by creating incentives for market users, including speculators, to migrate to markets outside the CFTC’s jurisdiction. We would view with great concern the adoption of any policy on position limits that would diminish the transparency of the energy markets or put U.S. exchanges at a competitive disadvantage.

FIA Statement on CFTC/SEC Regulatory Harmonization

On Sept. 2, 2009, the Futures Industry Association participated in a joint meeting of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to discuss harmonizing the federal securities laws and the Commodity Exchange Act. The FIA gave a brief statement outlining its views on the differences in regulation that could be harmonized as well as those that should be maintained.

Click Here for the FIA Statement

FIA Responds to the U.S. Treasury’s Proposed Legislation for the Regulation of OTC Derivatives

Washington, D.C.—August 11, 2009—The Futures Industry Association today issued the following statement in response to the transmission by the Treasury Department of legislative language to the Congress for the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives.

We are studying the proposed legislation and its implications for the regulated futures markets. The legislation proposes major changes to the rules related to U.S. and global futures trading. We look forward to working with the administration and the Congress to ensure that the legislation allows futures markets to serve their price discovery and risk management purposes through liquid, fair and financially secure trading.

FIA Files Comments on CFTC’s Proposed Changes to Capital Requirements

FIA Supports Increase In Minimum Capital Requirement for FCMs
FIA Supports Inclusion of OTC Cleared Derivatives
FIA Supports Increase in Capital Charge for Non-Customer Positions
FIA Opposes Proposed 10% Requirement
FIA Urges CFTC to Avoid Measures That Would Increase Industry Concentration

Washington, D.C.—July 7, 2009—The Futures Industry Association has filed a comment letter with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission expressing its views on the CFTC’s proposed amendments to the minimum financial requirements for futures commission merchants and introducing brokers. The FIA strongly opposed two specific measures that would dramatically increase the capital requirements for FCMs and warned that these two changes could have anti-competitive effects. The FIA endorsed several other proposed amendments, however, including an increase in the minimum adjusted net capital of FCMs to $1 million, an increase in the capital required to cover the risk of non-customer positions, and the inclusion of OTC cleared derivatives in capital computations.

“The FIA fully supports most of the major provisions in the proposed rules as well as the overall objective of enhancing the financial integrity of the futures markets,” FIA President John Damgard said. “Assuring that FCMs maintain sufficient capital to maintain their futures-related and other business activities is absolutely essential to preserving customer confidence in our markets. The CFTC’s proposals are grounded on the recognition that our markets have undergone several important changes in recent years, most notably in the provision of clearing services to credit default swaps and other products traded over the counter. However, we believe that the current 8% charge for customer positions is sufficient and therefore we oppose an increase to 10%.”

Under the current rules, the minimum adjusted net capital requirement for FCMs must be 8% of the total risk margin requirement for positions carried in customer accounts, plus 4% of the total risk margin requirement for positions carried in non-customer accounts. The CFTC is proposing to raise this to 10% of the total risk margin requirement across both types of accounts. The FIA in its letter agreed with the CFTC that under conditions of financial stress, the risk associated with non-customer accounts may not necessarily be less than the risk associated with customer accounts. The FIA therefore expressed its support for applying the same percentage to customer and non-customer accounts in calculating an FCM’s risk-based capital requirement.

The FIA said, however, that it opposes the proposal to increase this percentage to 10% and instead encouraged the CFTC to require that risk-based capital be calculated at 8% for positions carried in both customer and non-customer accounts. The FIA said that an increase to 10% has not been justified and warned that it could harm competition by encouraging the further concentration of customer funds in a handful of FCMs.

The CFTC also asked for comment on whether firms that are dually registered as FCMs with the CFTC and as broker-dealers with the Securities and Exchange Commission should maintain adjusted net capital equal to the sum of the firm’s CFTC and SEC capital requirements. Under current rules, FCM/broker-dealers are required to meet the greater of the two requirements. In its comment letter, the FIA expressed strong opposition to such a change, which could have the same adverse impact on the level of competition in the industry as the proposed increase to a 10% requirement.

“In light of the fact that the Commission’s current capital rules served the industry and the markets well during the recent financial crisis, including the unwinding of Bear Stearns & Co. and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., we encourage the Commission to move cautiously before imposing additional capital requirements that may be unnecessary to protect customers and the financial integrity of the markets and would serve only to reduce further competition within the financial services industry,” the FIA wrote.

The FIA is the leading trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes the world’s largest futures brokers as well as leading derivatives exchanges from more than 20 countries. For more information, please contact Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) at (202) 466-5460.

Click here for the PDF

FIA Response to Gensler Statement

Washington, D.C.—July 7, 2009—The Futures Industry Association today released the following statement from FIA President John Damgard regarding the statement issued by Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

FIA welcomes the CFTC’s announcement of public hearings on how best to accomplish its mission of ensuring the “fair, open and efficient functioning” of futures markets. FIA has consistently supported efforts by the CFTC to ensure the integrity of the price discovery process, and we want to help Chairman Gensler continue to achieve this goal. FIA would be concerned by any measures to bar legitimate participants from these markets or that would make it less efficient for U.S. corporations to use futures as a tool for managing price risk. FIA hopes the CFTC's hearings will address public concerns about the impact of speculation on futures market prices without causing these markets to become less fair, open and efficient.

FIA Comments on Obama Regulatory Reform Plan

Washington, D.C.—June 17, 2009—John Damgard, the president of the Futures Industry Association, today issued the following statement in response to the release by the Obama administration of a white paper outlining a number of reforms to the U.S. financial regulatory system.

“We welcome the Obama plan to plug the gaps in financial market supervision and prevent a crisis of the magnitude that we have seen over the last year. Although much work remains to be done on the details of the administration’s proposals for regulatory reform, we commend the administration for the thoughtfulness and comprehensiveness of its plan for building a “new foundation” for financial regulation and supervision.
Over the last two years, the U.S. futures markets have functioned extremely well despite extraordinary turmoil in the financial system. No customer money was lost through default and no taxpayer money was used to support the futures business. We believe this reflects the strengths of our regulatory system as well as the effectiveness of the industry’s own practices for limiting counterparty risk and maintaining confidence in market integrity.
We look forward to working with the administration, the Congress and all regulatory agencies to do everything we can to promote and enhance the liquidity, risk management, price discovery and financial integrity of futures trading in the United States.”

FIA Commends CFTC for Addressing Potential Conflicts of Interest in Exchange Governance

Washington, D.C.—May 29, 2009—The Futures Industry Association today issued the following statement with regards to the implementation of governance standards for futures exchanges by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The standards, which came in force on May 27, provide clear guidelines for exchanges to avoid conflicts of interest between their commercial activities and their duties as self-regulatory organizations, as required under Core Principle 15 of the Commodity Exchange Act.

“The FIA strongly supports each of the reforms that the CFTC has adopted in its acceptable practices for the governance of self-regulatory organizations,” said FIA President John Damgard. “These reforms are an essential response to the industry’s transformation over the last decade and should enhance the reputation of self-regulation throughout the futures industry.”

“I want to thank the CFTC commissioners—both past and current—and the CFTC’s staff for their perseverance in pursuing these reforms. I also want to thank the board of the FIA and in particular our public directors for their good counsel, and all the exchanges and other parties who participated in the consultation process and dedicated their time towards the ultimate goal of making self-regulation work better.”

“Our work is not done, however. All of us must work with the CFTC to ensure that self-regulation fosters public confidence in our industry’s fairness and impartiality.”

The CFTC’s guidelines establish that the boards of directors of futures exchanges should have at least 35% public directors. These directors cannot have any material relationship with the exchanges or their member firms. Exchanges also should establish “regulatory oversight committees” composed entirely of public directors to oversee their self-regulatory functions, and exchange disciplinary panels should have at least one public member. Exchanges are not required to comply with the guidelines, but if they do not they must demonstrate to the CFTC how their alternative arrangements comply with requirement to minimize conflicts of interest.

The CFTC’s review of exchange governance began in 2004, when the agency began considering how structural changes in the industry were affecting the self-regulatory system. Those changes included the shift in exchange ownership from members to investors, their transformation into profit-seeking enterprises, and the increased competition among exchanges. The FIA filed numerous comment letters over the years in support of the CFTC’s review and offering specific suggestions for reform. The FIA also published a white paper in June 2004 explaining why the industry’s self-regulatory system needed to be updated in light of the many changes taking place within the industry and across derivatives markets in general, and participated in a public hearing held by the CFTC in February 2006 to discuss issues related to self-regulation.

FIA Statement on Senate Confirmation of Gary Gensler as CFTC Chairman

Washington, D.C.—May 19, 2009—John Damgard, president of the Futures Industry Association, today issued the following statement in response to the Senate’s confirmation of Gary Gensler as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

This is welcome news indeed. Gary Gensler is extraordinarily well qualified to serve as the next chairman of the CFTC, and we look forward to working with him as the CFTC participates in the efforts by the Administration and the Congress to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework for derivatives.

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FIA Releases Volume Statistics for 2008

Washington, D.C. March 11, 2009 – Futures and options trading during 2008 hit 17.7 billion contracts, according to data from 69 exchanges worldwide that were tracked by the Futures Industry Association. Total volume grew by 13.7 percent from 2007, a strong pace of growth but down from the 30.9 Percent surge in trading during 2007, according to the FIA survey.

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FIA Elects Directors and Officers

WASHINGTON, D.C.-March 11, 2009-The Futures Industry Association today announced the election of board members at its annual meeting in Boca Raton, Fla. Following the election, the new board elected the association's officers and public directors. All members will serve two-year terms unless otherwise noted. New members of the board are marked with an asterisk.

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FIA Announces Inductees to Futures Hall of Fame

WASHINGTON, D.C.-March 12, 2009-The Futures Industry Association today announced the induction of 21 new members into the Futures Hall of Fame, which was established in 2005 to commemorate outstanding contributions to the global futures and options community.

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FIA Responds to the Announcement of President-Elect Obama’s Choices for SEC and CFTC Chairmanships

Washington, D.C.—Dec. 18, 2008—John Damgard, president of the Futures Industry Association, issued the following statement in response to President-elect Barack Obama’s announcement today that he will nominate Mary Schapiro to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission and Gary Gensler to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

In choosing Mary Schapiro and Gary Gensler to serve as the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, respectively, President-elect Barack Obama has sent a strong message to the public and the world of finance that intelligent reform will be the order of the day. The choice of Mary Schapiro, a tried and tested regulatory official with years of experience at the CFTC, the SEC and FINRA, will bring strong leadership to the SEC at a critical moment in its history. And the choice of Gary Gensler, with his distinguished background in both public policy and the private sector, will reaffirm the stature of the CFTC and its importance to the U.S. economy.

When the U.S. economy is contracting at an alarming rate, when financial markets all over the world are suffering through extraordinary turmoil and serious questions are being raised about investor protection and market oversight, it is critically important to have strong leadership at these two agencies. We are very encouraged by the fact that President-elect Obama is moving swiftly to fill these important positions, and we look forward to working with both officials once they are confirmed.

Today’s announcement provides further confirmation that the President-elect is assembling a team of officials with an outstanding combination of experience, expertise and seasoned judgment, and we anticipate that the incoming administration will move quickly to restore confidence in the financial system.

FOX Business TV interview with FIA President John Damgard





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FIA Releases Testimony on Proposed Legislation to Address Futures Regulation and Energy Prices

July 9, 2008—The Futures Industry Association today released the written text of testimony that will be delivered to the House Agriculture Committee on July 11. The committee is holding three days of hearings from July 9 to July 11 on a number of proposals that seek to address concerns about high energy prices by amending the Commodity Exchange Act. The committee asked for testimony from a wide range of interest groups, industry associations and members of Congress. The FIA testimony concentrated on one issue of particular concern to its core membership—the regulation of foreign boards of trade—but also addressed several other issues, including the involvement of pension funds in the commodity futures markets, the appropriate treatment of energy swaps, and the provision of additional resources to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The FIA testimony also included an appendix with a recommended list of measures that Congress should enact to deal with the current market situation.

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FIA-Supported Coalition Encouraged by Progress on Financial Services in U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue

WASHINGTON, D.C.–June 16, 2008–Engage China, a coalition of 10 financial services trade associations united in support of the goals of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, today released a statement commenting on the results of U.S.-China SED, which held its fourth meeting in Annapolis, Md. on June 17-18. The FIA is a member of the Engage China coalition.

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FIA Releases Statement on CFTC Energy Markets Oversight

WASHINGTON, D.C.-June 10, 2008- The Futures Industry Association strongly supports the recent efforts of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to bolster price transparency and enhance market surveillance in commodity and energy futures markets. Commodity and energy markets present an ever increasing regulatory challenge for the Commission, as trading platforms become more global and inter-linked through modern technology. As part of its ongoing leadership in this area, the Commission is conducting its first meeting on its Energy Markets Advisory Committee on June 10, 2008. FIA is submitting this short statement for the record of that meeting.

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New York Times Runs Story on Bull Market Sees the Worst in Speculators- June 13, 2008

Bull Market Sees the Worst in Speculators
By DIANA B. HENRIQUES
Published: June 13, 2008
Click here for story on the New York Times Site

In Washington, financial speculators have fat targets on their backs.
Andrew Councill/Bloomberg News

Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, says regulators study ways to increase oversight of financial speculators but that recent swings in the market show little sign of effective policing.

They are being blamed for high gas prices, soaring grocery bills and volatile commodity markets, and lawmakers are lashing out at market regulators for not cracking down on them more vigorously.
"You study it, but you don’t act against this incredible increase in speculation," Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, complained to a senior official of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission at a recent Senate hearing. "Unless the C.F.T.C. is going to act against speculation, we don’t have a cop on the beat."

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FIA Commends Congress for Approving CFTC Reauthorization

WASHINGTON, D.C.—May 16, 2008—The Futures Industry Association today released the following statement from FIA President John Damgard regarding the passage of the farm bill earlier this week by the House and Senate. The farm bill contains provisions reauthorizing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and amending certain sections of the Commodity Exchange Act.

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FIA Urges Indian Government to Drop Proposed Tax on Commodity Futures Transactions

WASHINGTON, D.C.-April 23, 2008-The Futures Industry Association today released the text of a letter sent to the Indian government that expressed strong opposition to the recently proposed transaction tax on commodity futures. The letter was sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Minister of Finance P. Chidambaram, Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar and other senior government officials as well as key members of Parliament. In the letter, FIA President John Damgard described the "negative consequences" that typically flow from such proposed taxes, and warned that the proposed tax could result in driving trading volume to foreign exchanges and hampering the future growth of India's commodity futures exchanges.

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FIA Responds to the U.S. Treasury’s “Blueprint for Regulatory Reform”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—March 31, 2008—The Futures Industry Association today issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Treasury Department’s proposed “blueprint for regulatory reform.”

The FIA commends the Treasury Department for taking a comprehensive look at the U.S. regulatory system and for recognizing the many benefits of the regulatory system that now applies to U.S. futures markets administered by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The FIA has long agreed with Treasury’s view that modern market realities compel the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission to enhance their coordination and cooperation efforts. The Memorandum of Understanding recently entered into by the two agencies also reflects this view and the leadership of both agencies should be commended for their efforts. In the longer term, FIA stands ready to work with all interested parties on the many important issues raised by this proposal in order to develop constructive solutions that benefit our customers and the financial integrity of our markets.

The FIA is the leading trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes the world’s largest futures brokers as well as leading derivatives exchanges from more than 20 countries. For more information, please contact Mary Ann Burns (maburns@futuresindustry.org) or Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) at (202) 466-5460.

FIA Names Richard Berliand to Futures Hall of Fame

The Futures Industry Association is pleased to announce the induction of Richard Berliand, the chairman of J.P. Morgan’s global futures and options business, into the Futures Hall of Fame on March 14, 2008. During his two years as chairman of the FIA, Berliand excelled at providing leadership in promoting industry-wide initiatives to improve operational efficiency. These initiatives included the formation of FIA Technology Services, a for-profit FIA company that manages two give-up initiatives, EGUS and eGAINS, and a clearing and risk management study in cooperation with the Futures and Options Association and five leading clearinghouses. Berliand also spearheaded a renewed emphasis on international issues through the establishment of FIA Asia and a closer relationship with the FOA, and represented the industry in meetings with Washington policy makers such as Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and Walt Lukken, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

FIA Elects New Directors and Officers

WASHINGTON, D.C. AND BOCA RATON, FLA.—March 13, 2008—The Futures Industry Association today announced the results of the election of board members at its annual board meeting in Boca Raton, Fla. Following the election, the new board elected the association’s officers and public directors. All members will serve two-year terms unless otherwise noted. New members of the board are marked with an asterisk.

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Global Futures and Options Trading Rises 28% in 2007

Washington D.C.—March 10, 2008—The Futures Industry Association, a Washington-based trade group, today released its annual report on global trading volume. The report, which measures volume based on the number of contracts traded on derivatives exchanges worldwide, indicates that more than 15 billion futures and options contracts changed hands during 2007, an increase of 28% from the previous year.

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FIA “Strongly Supports” Proposed CFTC Exemption for Foreign Brokers

Washington—Feb. 27, 2008—The FIA has filed a comment letter with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission saying it “strongly supports” a proposed exemption from the CFTC’s registration requirements for foreign brokers that are affiliated with U.S. futures commission merchants. The proposed exemption, which was requested by the FIA Law & Compliance Division, “has become increasingly important to FCMs and their affiliates as their institutional customers extend their trading activities to a growing number of international markets,” the FIA letter said. As explained in the letter, the proposed exemption would codify several no-action letters adopted by the CFTC’s Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight, “pursuant to which foreign affiliates of certain U.S. FCMs have been authorized to accept orders from U.S. institutional customers for execution on U.S. designated contract markets notwithstanding that such affiliates are not registered with the commission as introducing brokers.” The exemption would be limited to foreign firms that are affiliated with a registered FCM and that already have obtained exemptive relief from the CFTC pursuant to Regulation 30.10. In addition, the foreign firm would not be permitted to solicit any U.S. customers for trading on U.S. markets nor handle any U.S. customer funds for trading on U.S. markets.

FIA Hires Assistant General Counsel

The FIA is pleased to announce that it has hired Tammy Botsford as vice president and assistant general counsel. Tammy comes to the FIA from Morgan Stanley, where she was vice president and counsel primarily covering futures and OTC commodities. Tammy graduated from Fordham University School of Law and has more than 20 years varied experience in the financial industry, including but not limited to law and compliance, trading, operations and middle management. She will assist Barbara Wierzynski, the FIA’s general counsel, on a wide range of legal and regulatory matters.

FIA Statement on DOJ letter to Treasury regarding US Futures Market Structure

Washington, D.C.—Feb. 5, 2008—Today the Treasury Department made public a comment letter from the antitrust division of the Justice Department regarding the structure of the U.S. futures markets. In response to inquiries from the press about this letter, the FIA is releasing the following statement:

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Engage China Coalition Supports Strategic Economic Dialogue

Washington, D.C. - Dec. 11, 2007 - Engage China, a coalition of nine U.S. financial services trade associations, today released a statement strongly supporting the goals of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, which will hold its third meeting in Beijing on Dec. 12 and 13. The FIA is a member of the Engage China coalition and joins with the other groups in believing that continued engagement with China is the best way to remove the barriers that our members face when seeking to do business in China.

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Financial Industry Coalition Urges Federal Appeals Court to Preserve CFTC Exclusive Jurisdiction

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, D.C./CHICAGO, Dec. 10, 2007 -- Today, a broad coalition of exchanges, brokers and market participants in the United States financial industry filed a "friend of the court" brief in federal appeals court challenging the legal authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to prosecute claims that Amaranth Advisors manipulated the price of natural gas futures traded on a futures exchange.

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FIA Organizes Disaster Recovery Test

To help the association’s members prepare for the potential impact of a disaster on their operations, the FIAIT Division held its fourth annual disaster recovery test on Saturday, Oct. 27. Participants in the test, which was coordinated by the FIA Information Technology Division, tested connectivity between back-up sites and processed pre-scripted orders simulated by the exchanges. More than a dozen exchanges in the U.S. and Europe participated in the exercise, including CME Group, the New York Mercantile Exchange, ICE Futures (U.S. and Europe), Eurex, Liffe and Meff. The 103 firms that participated in the test represent approximately 88% of the average volume on these exchanges, providing the critical mass necessary to make the test successful. Of those firms, 98% were able to establish connectivity and process orders at the exchanges through their back-up sites.

FIA Joins “Engage China” Coalition

Washington, D.C.--Oct. 2--The FIA has joined a coalition of financial services trade associations called Engage China that is working to increase market access in China for U.S. financial services firms.

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Industry Associations Announce New Framework for Co-operation

Washington DC and London – September 28 – The Futures Industry Association and the Futures and Options Association announced on Sept. 28 that they are entering into a new arrangement for co-operation which will allow the two organizations to work more closely together.

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FIA Testifies Before House Agriculture Subcommittee on CFTC Reauthorization

FIA President John Damgard testified at a Sept. 26 hearing of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management on the reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The testimony emphasized three general points: the FIA endorses CFTC reauthorization, supports the CFTC's exclusive jurisdiction, and opposes major changes to the Commodity Exchange Act.

FIA Inducts 19 Individuals to Futures Hall of Fame

WASHINGTON, D.C. AND BOCA RATON, FLA.—March 14, 2007—The Futures Industry Association today announced the induction of 19 members into the Futures Hall of Fame. They join 55 other honorees in the Hall of Fame, which was established in 2005 on the occasion of the FIA’s 50th anniversary. The 19 new members were honored at a special dinner and awards ceremony during the 32nd annual International Futures Industry Conference in Boca Raton, Fla.

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FIA Elects Board Members and Officers

WASHINGTON, D.C. AND BOCA RATON, FLA.— March 15, 2007—The Futures Industry Association announced the election of board members at its annual board meeting in Boca Raton, Fla. Following the election, the new board elected the association’s officers and public directors. In addition, the chairman re-appointed Peter F. Borish as chairman of the Institute for Financial Markets.The following members were elected as officers by the new board:

Richard Berliand, managing director, futures and options, J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd, was elected chairman
Kenneth M. Ford, managing director, Credit Suisse, was elected vice chairman
Ira Polk, vice chairman and chief administrative officer, Man Financial, was elected secretary and treasurer

The following individuals were re-elected as public directors by the new board:

Robert Fink
Todd Petzel, managing director, chief investment officer, Azimuth Trust Company

The newly elected board members are:

Thomas Callahan, managing director, head of global futures, Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc.
Robert T. Cox, managing director and head of futures, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.
Christopher Hehmeyer, chief executive officer, Penson GHCO

Eight members of the board were re-elected in the regular member category:

Richard Berliand, managing director, futures and options, J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd
Richard A. Ferina, chairman and chief executive officer, Calyon Financial Inc.
Ronald M. Hersch, senior managing director, Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.
M. Clark Hutchison, global co-head of exchange-traded derivatives, UBS Securities LLC
Jeffrey Jennings, managing director, global head of futures, Lehman Brothers Inc.
Peter J. McLady, head of global exchange services, Deutsche Bank AG
Ira Polk, vice chairman and chief administrative officer, Man Financial Inc.
Dennis Scurletis, managing director, global head of futures, Morgan Stanley

Three members of the board were re-elected in the associate member category:

Philippe Buhannic, president and chief executive officer, TradingScreen Inc.
George E. Crapple, co-chairman and co-chief executive officer, Millburn Ridgefield Corporation
Edward J. Rosen, partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

In addition to John Damgard, president of the Futures Industry Association, who serves on the board ex officio, the continuing board members are:

Patrice Blanc, chairman and chief executive officer, Fimat Group
Chris Damilatis, managing director, head of listed futures, Prudential Bache Commodities, LLC
Michael C. Dawley, managing director, Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Kenneth M. Ford, managing director, Credit Suisse Securities (USA), LLC
Alasdair Hodge, head of listed derivatives, prime services and e-commerce, Barclays Capital Inc.
Najib Lamhaouar, managing director, head of global futures, Citigroup Inc.
David S. Mitchell, partner, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Kenneth M. Raisler, partner, Sullivan & Cromwell
Michael Riccardi, deputy chief operating officer, Tudor Investment Corporation
Mark Rosenberg, chairman and chief investment officer, SSARIS LLC
Steven R. Winter, managing director, head of fixed income prime brokerage, Banc of America Securities

For information, please contact Mary Ann Burns (maburns@futuresindustry.org) or Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) at (202) 466-5460.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth
maburns@futuresindustry.org; wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Related links:

Press Release

FIA Statement on the Proposed CME-CBOT Merger

The Futures Industry Association has been asked by market participants to clarify its views on the proposed merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. The CME and CBOT are the two largest futures exchanges in the United States, representing over 85% of the market in U.S. futures exchange trading. FIA is issuing this statement to present its position on the competitive implications of this major transaction.

For many years, FIA has expressed its concern about the lack of meaningful competition among U.S. futures exchanges and their clearing facilities. To address this situation, FIA has championed the entry of new U.S. exchanges and clearing facilities as well as the creation of new U.S. market structures.

Recently, FIA has considered these issues in light of the proposed CME-CBOT merger. FIA acknowledges that the merger could have short-term cost savings and operational efficiencies. In FIA’s view, however, the CME-CBOT merger would concentrate significant market power in the new CME Group, substantially lessen competition among U.S. futures exchanges, and raise even higher the barriers to entry for new competitors. FIA understands that various market structure alternatives could potentially overcome the anti-competitive effects of the merger and is considering internally the efficacy of those alternatives as well as their impact on the long-term competitive landscape of the U.S. futures markets.

About FIA
FIA is the national trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes more than 40 of the largest futures commission merchants. FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 90 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth
maburns@futuresindustry.org; wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

FIA Statement on Futures Trading Commission New Governance Guidelines for Futures Exchanges

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Feb. 1, 2007—The Futures Industry Association today issued the following statement from FIA President John Damgard on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s new governance guidelines for futures exchanges:

"FIA applauds the Commission's action to strengthen futures exchange self-regulation. FIA has participated extensively in the Commission's multi-year consideration of major reforms that would serve the needs of all market participants. While the final package does not go as far as we recommended in some areas, I believe the reforms will enhance public confidence in the integrity of U.S. futures exchange markets, when implemented."

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth
maburns@futuresindustry.org; wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

FIA Statement on the Passing Away of Nybot President and CEO Harry Falk

FIA President John Damgard expressed his sadness at the news that Harry Falk, the president and chief executive officer of the New York Board of Trade, passed away this morning.

“I am shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Harry Falk. He was one of the real veterans in our business. The contributions that Harry made to the international softs market are unmatched. This is a tremendous loss to our industry. Our sympathies go out to his family and his many, many friends.”

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth
maburns@futuresindustry.org; wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

FIA and Markit Announce Operational Efficiency Project

A give-up occurs when a futures market participant uses one broker to execute a trade and another to clear it, requiring the executing broker to "give up" the trade to the clearing broker. It is estimated that more than 15,000 agreements are executed annually involving nearly all futures commission merchants that handle customer business.

"FIA EGUS will significantly reduce the cost and the time it takes to establish give-up agreements for both customers and brokers," said FIA Chairman Richard Berliand, managing director, futures and options for JPMorgan. "The feedback from both the industry and the customers has been extremely positive."

Fifteen firms have agreed to be "supporting FCMs," pledging to fund and use the system: Banc of America Securities, Barclays Capital, Bear Stearns, Calyon Financial, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Fimat Group, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, Man Financial, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS.

Markit's trade processing platform will automate the give-up process, enabling brokers to track agreements, rate changes and payments more efficiently. An important benefit will be the use of electronic signatures instead of paper-based signatures, which will improve the processing of give-ups and reduce execution costs significantly. Data will be delivered electronically to exchanges, clearinghouses and customer systems, streamlining execution brokerage practices. The platform will be open to all executing and clearing brokers regardless of FIA membership.

The FIA developed the "uniform brokerage execution services (give-up) agreement" in 1995. Although paper agreements will continue to be used, the system will provide a faster and more secure way of putting the agreements in place and managing changes in the agreements.

About FIA
FIA is the national trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes 35 of the largest futures commission merchants. FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 90 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets.

About Markit
Markit Group Limited is the leading provider of independent data, portfolio valuations and OTC derivatives trade processing to the global financial and commodities markets. The company receives daily data contributions from over 70 dealing firms, and its services are used by over 600 institutions to enhance trading operations, reduce risk and manage compliance. For more information, please contact Teresa Chick at teresa.chick@markit.com or +44 (0)20-7260-2094.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth
maburns@futuresindustry.org; wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Related links:

Financial Services Industry Conducts Successful Business Continuity Test

"For the second annual industry test, we saw increased participation and very encouraging results," said Howard Sprow, director of business continuity planning with the Securities Industry Association. "This is a testament to the amount of work done by securities firms and market entities to improve the ability of the securities markets to recover from significant emergencies."

During the test, which accounted for more than 80 percent of normal market trading volume, firms and service bureaus were able to connect simultaneously by utilizing backup data centers and communications links, alternative trading sites and alternate operations facilities to place test orders, receive simulated executions and conduct settlement and payment interactions. The test achieved a 95 percent overall success rate and did not encounter significant complications for any individual exchange or firm. When problems did arise, most were resolved quickly, allowing the test orders to be placed and processed.

"The test was a tremendous success and based on the results, we fully expect that all facets of the industry would be able to operate effectively during an emergency," said Joseph Sack, executive vice president with the Bond Market Association. "The backup strategies for firms and market entities performed extremely well and industry participants were able to promptly clear most technical issues."

For the first time this year, money markets were included in the test. Money market testing concluded quickly with a 100 percent success rate and confirmed that the major commercial paper dealers would have the ability to effectively communicate with their Issuing Paying Agents using DTCC's Pre-Issuance Messaging System which transmits roughly 80 percent of daily commercial paper.

"This year's test demonstrates once again that the significant amount of resources and time devoted by the industry to BCP planning has paid off," said Mary Ann Burns, senior vice president with the Futures Industry Association.

With the addition of the market data component and expanded participation from service bureaus, the Financial Information Forum (FIF) provided significant input in planning and coordinating vendor involvement in the test.

"Our members include mission critical service providers of market data, execution and trade processing services," said Manisha Kimmel, executive director of the Financial Information Forum. "Their participation is a critical element in maintaining a vital securities trading operation in the midst of an emergency."

The final results of the test and other BCP issues will be discussed at the upcoming SIA Business Continuity Planning Conference in New York City on October 31 – November 1, 2006.

About SIA
The Securities Industry Association brings together the shared interests of more than 600 securities firms to accomplish common goals. SIA's primary mission is to build and maintain public trust and confidence in the securities markets. SIA members (including investment banks, broker-dealers, and mutual fund companies) are active in all U.S. and foreign markets and in all phases of corporate and public finance. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. securities industry employs nearly 800,000 individuals, and its personnel manage the accounts of nearly 93-million investors directly and indirectly through corporate, thrift, and pension plans. In 2005, the industry generated an estimated $322.4 billion in domestic revenue and an estimated $474 billion in global revenues. (More information about SIA is available at: www.sia.com.)

About TBMA
The Bond Market Association, with offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and London, represents securities firms, banks and asset managers that underwrite, invest, trade and sell debt securities and other financial products globally.

About FIA
The Futures Industry Association is the national trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes more than 30 of the largest futures commission merchants as well as futures and options exchanges in more than 20 countries. The FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 90 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets.

About FIF
The Financial Information Forum (FIF) addresses the implementation issues that impact the financial technology industry across the order lifecycle. FIF provides a collaborative environment for subscribers to benefit from technology, regulatory, and market innovations. Financial institutions, vendors, and exchanges are encouraged to join the Financial Information Forum, which serves as a focal point for coordination and communication on behalf of the industry. More information is available on the FIF website at www.fif.com.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns
maburns@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Related links:

Joint Press Release

FIA President John Damgard Responds to CME-CBOT Merger Announcement

"This is a historic moment for the futures industry. Trading volume has been breaking records year after year as the world has come to realize the risk management benefits of exchange-traded derivatives. We know very well that the CME and the CBOT had to overcome many difficult hurdles to reach this landmark agreement, and we look forward to learning more about the details.

"Consolidation usually leads to greater efficiencies. We saw how beneficial common clearing was for the users of these markets, and there is no doubt that consolidating the CME and CBOT products onto a single trading platform could lead to additional cost savings. In the coming days I am sure that our members will be weighing the implications of this proposed merger, and in particular the degree to which the expected benefits will accrue to the users of these markets as well as the shareholders.

"Are there questions about the concentration of such a large share of futures trading on a single exchange? Yes, of course there are, and our members will be looking at that as will the regulators."

The FIA is a non-profit trade association for the futures industry based in Washington, D.C. Its membership includes the leading international futures commission merchants and more than 40 derivatives exchanges and clearing organizations from around the world.

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Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth
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FIA Press Release

FIA Appoints Dr. Foo-shiung Ho Managing Director of FIA Asia

"Asia's derivatives markets hold enormous promise, and we believe that cross-border trading can and will play a vital role in their development," said John Damgard, President of the Futures Industry Association.

"Dr. Ho's success in transforming Taifex into one of the fastest growing and most dynamic derivatives marketplaces in Asia could not have been achieved without a clear understanding of the regulatory and market structures necessary to attract liquidity from both domestic and international market participants.

"We are confident that his experience at both Taifex and the Chicago Board of Trade, as well as his contacts across the region, will serve him well in bringing together exchanges and market participants to assist each other in developing these markets to the greatest extent possible."

The FIA is making the announcement on the first day of the FIA Asia Derivatives Conference that it is holding in Mumbai in cooperation with four leading Indian derivatives exchanges. This will be a pan-Asian event, much like the FIA's conference last year in Beijing, China, and will feature speakers from Dubai, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan as well as from the U.S. and Europe.

FIA Asia will be based in Asia and will seek to promote the further development of Asia-Pacific derivatives exchanges through the following activities:

collect and disseminate information about exchanges, clearing organizations and regulators in the area;
support the adoption of international standards and best practices in product design, exchange membership, clearing functions, market integrity and financial safety rules;
work for better public understanding of the benefits of derivatives markets;
encourage cross-border trading and improved access rights;
present a unified industry voice to market officials;
establish working groups to address specific industry issues; and
promote cross-industry discussion through annual conferences and other events.

Membership will be open initially to clearing firms, exchanges, accounting and law firms, technology providers and other companies active in the Asia-Pacific derivatives markets. Membership will be voluntary; the organization will be a purely private sector trade association and will not be affiliated with any governmental or regulatory authorities.

After joining Taifex in November 2000, Dr. Ho and his colleagues lobbied relentlessly for support from financial regulators and local players to remove barriers to trading and to increase foreign participation. Among the measures that were taken in response to this effort were a substantial reduction in transaction tax rates, permission for foreign investors to trade Taifex products for non-hedging purpose, and the creation of omnibus accounts.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Ho worked for nine years at the Chicago Board of Trade as senior director for Asian business development. During that time, he traveled extensively in the Asia-Pacific region to promote CBOT products to regulators, exchanges, futures commission merchants and end-users.

He has a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, a Masters in economics from North Carolina State University, and a B.S. and a M.S. degree from National Taiwan University.

For more information, please contact Mary Ann Burns (maburns@futuresindustry.org) or Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) at +1 202 466-5460, or contact Foo-shiung Ho at fho@fiaasia.org or +886 2 2366 8146. More information on FIA Asia is availableat www.fiaasia.org.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth
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FIA Asia Press Release

FIA Elects Board Members and Officers

The following members were elected as officers by the board of directors:

Richard Berliand, managing director, global head of futures & options, JPMorgan, waselected chairman
Kenneth Ford, managing director, global head of listed derivatives, Credit Suisse, waselected vice chairman
Ira Polk, executive vice president, Man Financial, was elected secretary
Wendell Kapustiak, managing director, Merrill Lynch, was elected treasurer

The following new members of the board were elected by the FIA membership:

Alasdair Hodge, head of listed derivatives prime services and e-commerce, BarclaysCapital
Najib Lamhaouar, managing director, head of global futures, Citigroup Global Markets
Michael Riccardi, deputy chief operating officer, Tudor Investment Corporation.

The following members of the board were re-elected by the FIA membership:

Patrice Blanc, chairman and chief executive officer, Fimat Group
Chris Damilatis, managing director, Prudential Financial Derivatives
Michael Dawley, managing director, Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Kenneth Ford, managing director, global head of listed derivatives, Credit Suisse
Wendell Kapustiak, managing director, Merrill Lynch
William McCoy, managing director, Morgan Stanley
Peter McLady, global head of global exchange services, Deutsche Bank
David Mitchell, partner, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
Kenneth Raisler, partner, Sullivan & Cromwell
Mark Rosenberg, chairman and chief investment officer, SSARIS Advisors
Mark Rzepczynski, president and chief investment officer, John W. Henry & Co.
Steven Winter, managing director, head of fixed income prime brokerage, Banc ofAmerica Securities

Two public members were re-elected by the members of the board:

Robert Fink
Todd Petzel, managing director, chief investment officer, Azimuth Trust Company

The continuing board members are:

Richard Berliand, managing director, global head of futures & options, JPMorgan
Philippe Buhannic, president and chief executive officer, TradingScreen
Kevin Collins, global head of futures, ICAP
George Crapple, co-chairman and co-chief executive officer, Millburn Ridgefield
John Damgard, president, Futures Industry Association (ex officio)
Richard Ferina, chairman and chief executive officer, Calyon Financial
Ronald Hersch, senior managing director, Bear, Stearns & Co.
Clark Hutchison, managing director, global co-head of exchange traded derivatives,UBS Securities
Jeffrey Jennings, managing director, global head of futures, Lehman Brothers
Ira Polk, executive vice president, Man Financial
Edward Rosen, partner, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton
Allan Zavarro, chief executive officer, global futures, ABN Amro

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Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth
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Board of Directors

FIA Strongly Opposes Proposed Tax on Futures Transactions

"The proposed tax on futures transactions would raise the costs of doing business on regulated futures exchanges and could discourage institutions and individuals from using futures contracts to manage their risks," said John Damgard, president, Futures Industry Association. "Institutional players today have many choices. If exchange-traded products become less cost-efficient, they can choose to do business in the over-the-counter derivatives markets or move to more cost-efficient markets."

The proposed budget for fiscal year 2007 would apply the user fee to transactions in commodity futures and options traded on "approved exchanges" in order to fund the regulatory activities of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC budget for FY2007 is estimated to be $127,000,000.

The FIA believes that it would be counterproductive to discourage the use of markets that offer the benefits of transparency, risk management, mark-to-market valuation, multilateral clearing and strong self-regulation by imposing a transaction tax. The FIA believes the proposed tax should be dropped from the President’s budget with immediate effect.

For information, please contact Mary Ann Burns (maburns@futuresindustry.org) or David Bruderle (dbruderle@futuresindustry.org) at (202) 466-5460.

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Mary Ann Burns or David Bruderle
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Business Continuity Test A Success For Financial Services Industry

"This week, we took another important step towards ensuring the ability of our firms, markets and utilities to collectively operate through an emergency," said Don Kittell, Executive Vice President of SIA. "Backup data centers, work area recovery facilities and backup communications capabilities across the industry performed exceptionally well."

"The industry's participation in this past Saturday's test was superbly executed. The Street achieved its goal of testing firms' back-up connectivity with "exchanges" in all markets," said Joseph Sack, Executive Vice President of the Bond Market Association.

During the test, firms and service bureaus accounting for more than 80% of the market's normal order volume connected simultaneously using backup data centers, backup communications links, alternate trading sites and alternate operations facilities to place test orders, executions and settlement interactions.

There were no broad problems for any individual exchange or firm, and where issues arose, the vast majority were corrected when identified, allowing firms and exchanges to proceed with test orders. There were no problems that would have taken days to resolve or would have jeopardized operations in any major market segment, were they to occur in a real emergency.

Over 150 firms participated and 30 of those firms registered and conducted tests for multiple corporate entities (i.e., subsidiaries). Participants represented all sizes and types of firms - large, midsize and smaller, New York-based and regional.

Members of the Financial Information Forum including the service bureaus of ADP, SunGard and Thomson participated as well. Representing over 45 broker dealers in the test, service bureaus account for significant transaction volume and play a mission-critical role in maintaining robust securities trading operations.

Manisha Kulkarni, Executive Director of the Financial Information Forum described the active role the service bureaus took in the testing process, stating "From the initial planning stages to conducting and reporting results, ADP, SunGard, and Thomson demonstrated their ability to manage business continuity testing in multi-client environments."

In addition to facilitating service bureau participation in industry-wide testing, the Financial Information Forum participates in other BCP initiatives including maintaining an emergency command center for the market data industry and representing market data and service bureaus on the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC). More information on FIF's BCP activities can be found at www.fif.com/bcp/.

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The Securities Industry Association brings together the shared interests of approximately 600 securities firms to accomplish common goals. SIA's primary mission is to build and maintain public trust and confidence in the securities markets. SIA members (including investment banks, broker-dealers, and mutual fund companies) are active in all U.S. and foreign markets and in all phases of corporate and public finance. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. securities industry employs nearly 800,000 individuals, and its personnel manage the accounts of nearly 93-million investors directly and indirectly through corporate, thrift, and pension plans. In 2004, the industry generated $236.7 billion in domestic revenue and an estimated $340 billion in global revenues. (More information about SIA is available at: www.sia.com.)

The Bond Market Association, with offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and London, represents securities firms and banks that underwrite, trade and sell debt securities and other financial products globally.

FIA is a principal spokesman for the commodity futures and options industry. Our regular membership is comprised of approximately 40 of the larges futures commission merchants (FCMs) in the United States. Among our approximately 150 associate members are representatives of virtually all other segments of the futures industry, both national and international, including U.S. and international exchanges, banks, legal and accounting firms, introducing brokers, commodity trading advisors, commodity pool operators and other market participants, and information and equipment providers. Reflecting the scope and diversity of our membership, FIA estimates that our members effect more than 90 percent of all customer transactions executed on U.S. contract markets.

The Financial Information Forum (FIF) addresses the issues that impact the financial information industry, from real-time decision support through securities processing. FIF provides a collaborative environment for subscribers to benefit from technology, regulatory, and market innovations. Financial institutions, vendors, and exchanges are encouraged to join the Financial Information Forum, which serves as a focal point for coordination and communication on behalf of the industry. More information is available on the FIF website at www.fif.com.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns
maburns@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

EU and US Associations Call for Regulatory Convergence in Transatlantic Capital Markets

The recommended areas for priority regulatory action are based on an independent regulatory analysis carried out by the leading global law firm, Clifford Chance LLP, which details the contrasting licensing and business conduct rules in respect of equities and equity derivatives of the EU (including France, Germany, Spain and the UK) with those of the US. It highlights the extensive duplication and regulatory conflict that exists in some areas and the subtle differences in approach in others. These can create considerable compliance problems and unnecessary cost for international financial service institutions and their customers.

The report argues for the formulation of a common set of customer definitions for the purposes of classification, solicitation and documentation; a common approach to core investor protection objectives such as “know your customer”; the development of a common set of examination and registration requirements; a consensual regulatory approach to other firms’ outsourcing arrangements; and the development of a forward programme to simplify critical areas of regulation such as the obligation to deliver best execution, trade allocation procedures, distribution of research, etc. The report also urges that the process of rules’ development should be underpinned by an agreed set of consensual US/EU principles of good regulation and a common approach to regulatory impact assessments.

The Participating Associations recognise and welcome particularly the recent initiatives by the Council of European Securities Regulators (CESR), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish a process for greater consultation on rules’ development; the recent initiative by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Securities and Investment Institute (SII) and the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) to establish common examination requirements for capital markets; and the increased priority that is now being given by governments and regulatory authorities in both the US and the EU to the transatlantic dialogue in financial services. The Participating Associations believe that the study sets forth a compelling “business case” for establishing a more coherent, effective and cost-efficient regulatory framework which will also have real benefits for consumers.

Anthony Belchambers, CEO, FOA, said: “This report demonstrates that the case for positive action to reduce the high degree of unnecessary complexity and duplication in the regulation of transatlantic financial services is now overwhelming. It also demonstrates the scale of the contribution that the industry is capable of making to the current dialogue. If the critically important economic and commercial objectives of facilitating innovation, enhancing efficiency and liberalising customer choice are to be achieved, then, as the market and trading environment has ”gone global”, so must the way in which it is regulated.”

"Streamlining the cross-border regulation of equities and equity derivatives markets would lower the cost of trading and improve the market for financial service firms and their customers," said Beth Climo, executive director, ABASA. "We look forward to working with both domestic and international authorities to move this dialogue forward and improve the transatlantic regulatory environment."

"This report lays out an excellent case for better coordinating the regulation of financial services in the US and EU," said Cory Strupp, general counsel, BAFT. "The current regulatory approaches include unnecessary differences that are burdensome to financial firms that operate in both markets--imposing costs that ultimately are borne by customers--and that needs to change."

Ian Mullen, Chief Executive, British Bankers’ Association said “The BBA believes strongly that regulators and industry working together will produce better solutions than if they work apart. We hope that this report will help develop a fruitful transatlantic dialogue on the subjects raised in this report.”

John Damgard, President, Futures Industry Association said “Currently, firms trying to do transatlantic business face a myriad of confusing, inconsistent and conflicting regulatory requirements. Regulatory simplification and harmonisation, as we have proposed here, would have the benefits of lowering the cost of doing business and increasing competition on both sides of the Atlantic. This should result in better service for the many institutions trading equities and equity derivatives in our two markets”.

Richard E. Thornburgh, chairman of SIA's International Advisory Council and Vice Chairman of the Executive Board, Credit Suisse First Boston, said “Enhanced cooperation and understanding can be the basis to minimise regulatory differences and help make the transatlantic capital markets more efficient and accessible to investors and issuers. By detailing key industry priorities, this study is an integral part of that process. Uncoordinated regulatory approaches lead to new regulatory hurdles and barriers that raise costs for all market participants. By contrast, an integrated, transatlantic capital market is clearly in the best interests of all participants -- investors, issuers, and intermediaries -- as well as the global economy”.

Michael Snyder, Chairman, Policy & Resources Committee, Corporation of London said “The Corporation of London is delighted to co-sponsor this important piece of research because international financial centres have much to gain from reducing unhelpful regulatory tensions and duplication, and by promoting high level standards in the financial services industry on both sides of the Atlantic”.

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Mary Ann Burns
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(202) 466-5460

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FIA Statement on the Nomination of Reuben Jeffery to Serve as CFTC Chairman

May 18, 2005

“The FIA commends President Bush for nominating such an accomplished individual to serve as CFTC Chairman. Mr. Jeffery’s credentials are indeed impressive. He has a wealth of experience in the financial services sector and will bring to the agency a keen appreciation for the cross-border issues that our industry is facing. With CFTC reauthorization upon us, we look forward to the earliest possible Senate consideration of his nomination, which would allow him to join an outstanding group of Commissioners ably led by Acting Chairman Sharon Brown-Hruska.”

The Futures Industry Association is the international trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes more than 40 of the largest futures commission merchants. FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 80 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets. FIA membership also includes more than 40 international futures and options exchanges and clearinghouses in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. For more information, contact Mary Ann Burns (maburns@futuresindustry.org) or Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) at (202) 466-5460.

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For more information, contact:

Will Acworth
wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Global Futures and Options Volume Rose 8.9% in 2004

Total volume in 2004 increased 8.9% or 728.2 million contracts from the previous year. Futures-only volume reached 3.5 billion, up 16.3% from the previous year. Options trading grew more slowly, rising 4.6% to 5.4 billion contracts, mainly due to lower levels of trading in the Kospi 200 index option at the Korea Exchange. Excluding the Kospi futures and options contracts, overall global trading increased 17.3% to 6.4 billion contracts, with global futures trading up 15.6% to 3.5 billion contracts and global options trading up 19.4% to 2.9 billion contracts.

Volume rose in all sectors of the market, but the category with the greatest percentage increase was trading in foreign currencies. In 2004, volume in this category surged 35.4% to 105.4 million contracts worldwide. The largest contract in this category was the Bolsa de Mercadorias & Futuros’ U.S. Dollar futures contract, which was up 42.7% to 23.9 million contracts for the year. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s Euro FX future almost doubled, up 82.7% to 20.5 million contracts.

Individual equities trading rose 28.4% following a banner year in options on individual equities trading, which rose 27.4% to 1.9 billion contracts. Volume in these products at the International Securities Exchange, the top exchange worldwide for these products, climbed 47.3% to 360.8 million contracts for the year. Trading in individual equity options at Euronext.liffe, the world’s second-largest exchange for these products, grew 23.8% to reach 303.0 million. In single stock futures, trading rocketed 54.8% to 88.0 million contracts for the year. At the National Stock Exchange of India, the global leader in individual equity futures trading, volume in these products grew 72.3% to 44.1 million contracts.

Interest rate products maintained their lead as the world’s most active futures contracts. The CME’s 3-month Eurodollar future gained an additional 42.5% to 297.6 million contracts to remain the world’s largest futures contract, while Eurex’s Euro-Bund actually declined slightly, down 1.9% to 239.8 million contracts.

CME moved past Euronext.liffe in December to become the world’s third-largest global derivatives exchange. Bovespa and the Mexican Derivatives Exchange moved past the American Stock Exchange to numbers eight and nine on the top ten list, respectively.

For more information and statistics, please visit: http://www.futuresindustry.org/fimagazi-1929.asp?a=1026.

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Will Acworth
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202-466-5460

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Volume Statistics

FIA Unveils Futures Hall of Fame

“As we celebrate our 50th anniversary it is fitting that the FIA institute this Hall of Fame to celebrate the accomplishments and recognize the significant contributions individuals have made to the futures and options industry,” said FIA President John Damgard. “I have no doubt that the next 50 years will bring as many changes to our industry as the last 50, but one thing will remain constant--our respect and gratitude to the individuals who laid the foundation for our extraordinary success.”

The initial 55 honorees are:

Dr. Fred D. Arditti, former chief economist, Chicago Mercantile Exchange
John F. Benjamin, former executive vice president, Salomon Smith Barney
Lloyd C. Blankfein, president and chief operating officer, Goldman Sachs & Co.
D. Keith Campbell, chairman and chief executive officer, Campbell & Co.
Max C. Chapman Jr., former co-chairman and chief executive officer, Nomura Securities International
* John J. Conheeney, former chairman, Merrill Lynch Futures
* Michael C. Dawley, managing director, Goldman Sachs & Co.
Thomas H. Dittmer, founder, Refco
Barbara S. Dixon, president, Spackenkill Trading Corp.
Senator Robert J. Dole, former Kansas Senator and Senate Majority Leader
Thomas R. Donovan, former president and chief executive officer, Chicago Board of Trade
Marcy Engel, managing director and general counsel, Eton Park Capital Management
Robert B. Feduniak, former managing director, Morgan Stanley
* W. Robert Felker, managing director, futures and options, J.P. Morgan Futures Inc.
* David R. Ganis, former president, Northern Futures
* John T. Geldermann, founder, Geldermann & Co. and former chairman, Chicago Mercantile Exchange
John F. Gilmore, Jr., former partner, Goldman Sachs & Co. and former chairman, Chicago Board of Trade
Alan Greenspan, chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
* Hal T. Hansen, former president, Cargill Investor Services
John W. Henry, chairman, John W. Henry & Co. Inc.
* Ronald M. Hersch, senior managing director, Bear Stearns & Co. Inc.
Dr. Henry Jarecki, founder, Mocatta Metals Inc., founder, Brody White & Co.
Michael N. Jenkins, former chief executive officer, London International Financial Futures Exchange
Paul Tudor Jones II, chairman, Tudor Investment Corporation
* Peter F. Karpen, former director, futures and options, Credit Suisse First Boston
* George D. F. Lamborn, former senior executive vice president, Shearson Hayden Stone
* Jack H. Lehman III, former senior executive vice president, Salomon Smith Barney
Barry J. Lind, founder, Lind-Waldock
* Arthur R. Marcus, former director, commodity division, Paine Webber
Leo Melamed, chairman emeritus, Chicago Mercantile Exchange
* Laurence E. Mollner, former president, Carr Futures
Dennis M. Murray, vice president, J.P. Morgan Futures
Charles P. Nastro, former managing director, Lehman Brothers
Michael G. Philipp, chairman and chief executive officer, CSFB Europe, Middle East & Africa
Dr. Susan M. Phillips, dean, George Washington University School of Business and Public Management
Ivers W. Riley, chairman, International Securities Exchange
Leslie Rosenthal, founder, Rosenthal Collins Group
Thomas A. Russo, vice chairman and chief legal officer, Lehman Brothers Inc.
Dr. Richard L. Sandor, chairman and chief executive officer, Chicago Climate Exchange
Mary L. Schapiro, vice chairman and president, regulatory policy and oversight, National Association of Securities Dealers
* John P. Sievwright, chief operating officer, global markets and investment banking, Merrill Lynch
Craig F. Smithson, former executive director, UBS
* Steven D. Spence, former managing director, Merrill Lynch
John H. Stassen, retired senior partner, Kirkland & Ellis
Olof Stenhammar, chairman, OMX AB
* Howard A. Stotler, former partner, Stotler & Co.
Dennis A. Suskind, former head of metals trading, Goldman Sachs & Co.
Paula A. Tosini, former executive vice president, Institute for Financial Markets
Kenneth G. Tropin, founder and chairman, Graham Capital Management
Frederick G. Uhlmann, senior vice president, Man Financial and former chairman, Chicago Board of Trade
* David J. Vogel, managing director, Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
F. Helmut Weymar, former chairman and chief executive officer, Commodities Corporation
Robert K. Wilmouth, former president, National Futures Association
John A. Wing, former chief executive officer, The Chicago Corporation
Benjamin Wolkowitz, former managing director, Morgan Stanley
* former chairman of the FIA

FIA is the national trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes more than 40 of the largest futures commission merchants. FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 90% of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets.
For more information, contact Mary Ann Burns (maburns@futuresindustry.org) or Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) at (202) 466-5460.

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Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth
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Click Here for Bios and Photos

FIA Elects Officers and Directors

The FIA also announced the composition of its board for 2005: Patrice Blanc, Fimat Group; Philippe Buhannic, TradingScreen Inc.; William Cleary, Banc of America Futures, Inc.; Kevin Collins, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.; George Crapple, Milburn Ridgefield Corporation; John Damgard, FIA; Chris Damilatis, Prudential Financial Derivatives LLC; James Davison, Cargill Investor Services, Inc.; Michael Dawley, Goldman, Sachs & Co.; Richard Ferina, Calyon Financial, Inc.; Sandy Fleischman, Lehman Brothers Inc.; Kenneth Ford, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation; Ronald Hersch, Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc.; Clark Hutchison, UBS Securities LLC; Jeffrey Jennings, Morgan Stanley and Co., Inc.; David Mitchell, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft; Ira Polk, Man Financial Inc.; Kenneth Raisler, Sullivan & Cromwell; Edward Rosen, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP; Mark Rosenberg, SSARIS Advisors Inc.; Mark Rzepczynski, John W. Henry & Co., Inc.; Gregory Sachs, Deerfield Capital Management LLC; Michael Schaefer, Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; Steven Winter, Barclays Capital Inc.; and Allan Zavarro, ABN AMRO Incorporated.

Todd Petzel, Azimuth Alternative Assets, and Robert Fink were re-elected as public directors.

Retiring from the board since the last FIA Annual Meeting in March 2004 were: Peter Borish, OneChicago; William Brodsky, Chicago Board Options Exchange; W. Robert Felker, J.P. Morgan Futures Inc.; Alan Genn; William McCoy, Morgan Stanley; and Charles Nastro.

For more information, contact Mary Ann Burns (maburns@futuresindustry.org) or Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) at (202) 466-5460.

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For more information, contact:

Will Acworth
wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Futures Industry Holds Successful Disaster Recovery Test -- High Level of Participation Across the Industry

The eight and a half-hour test, which was organized by the FIA's Information Technology Division, was designed so that futures industry brokerage firms, known as futures commission merchants, could test the connectivity between their back-up sites and the exchanges’ back-up sites. Preparation began this April, and continued with weekly conference calls with all sectors of the industry as well as two pre-test briefings in New York and Chicago.

Six exchanges, five clearinghouses, several key service providers and 90 firms participated in the test, representing approximately 96% of U.S. trading volume. Such a high level of participation is a clear indication that the futures industry views disaster recovery as a critical priority, and also indicates the strength of the working relationship between firms and exchanges.

During the Oct. 9 test, firms were able to test the connectivity between their back-up sites and the exchanges’ back-up sites. In addition, a small but meaningful sample of orders was submitted to the exchanges and clearinghouses for processing. Feedback from the participants indicated that the test provided a valuable opportunity to identify specific points of failure and to improve the industry's readiness for future disasters. As a next step, the FIA will finalize a summary of the test results, survey firms and exchanges for feedback, and determine a test plan for 2005.

“I commend the members of the futures industry for their commitment to disaster recovery and business continuity,” said FIA President John Damgard. “One of the most important lessons we have learned from the September 11 attacks in 2001, the massive power outage of 2003, and other disasters is that all of us in this industry have to rely on each other at times of crisis. That's why it is so important to test the lines of communication that link the firms to the exchanges to make sure that we can continue doing business in case of emergency. I am very pleased that the FIA was able to play a leading role in organizing and coordinating this industry-wide effort, and I thank all the exchanges, firms and service providers for their support and participation.”

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Will Acworth
wacworth@futuresindustry.org
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FIA Releases SRO Position Paper

“We launched this project in response to CFTC Chairman Jim Newsome’s decision to conduct an in-depth review of the effectiveness of self-regulation in the futures industry,” said John Damgard, president of the FIA. “We hope this position paper will contribute to the CFTC’s views on this subject, and we look forward to providing further input as the review goes forward.”

The policy paper affirms the FIA’s support for the important role that exchanges and clearinghouses perform as self-regulatory organizations and designated self-regulatory organizations, but identifies two areas of concern: potential conflicts of interest and the appearance of unfairness.

“The FIA believes there is merit in the existing structure worth preserving and that more extreme alternatives are not desirable and are less efficient,” the paper states. “Nevertheless, the existing structure can be improved through greater transparency and oversight that will minimize any potential conflict of interests. To be fully effective, there must be an increased degree of confidence in the integrity and objectivity of the SRO.”

The CFTC announced its plans to review the roles, responsibilities, and capabilities of self-regulatory organizations in May 2003, and expanded the scope of the review in February 2004 to include issues related to SRO governance. Although the CFTC has not yet completed the review, preliminary findings have resulted in several interim measures related to self-regulation. The CFTC is also conducting a review of its regulations governing the designation of SROs as examination authorities, and recently extended the deadline for public comments.

The FIA is a U.S.-based international association with members from all facets of the futures industry, including many international futures and options exchanges. The FIA has been collecting and disseminating U.S. volume since 1960 and non-U.S. volume since 1986. The FIA data cover all types of exchange-traded derivatives, including futures, options on futures, and options on securities. In previous years, the FIA did not include individual stock options in its survey of global volume trends.

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Will Acworth
wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

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SRO Paper

U.S. Exchanges to Close Friday

The exchanges that will be closed on Friday include the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the International Securities Exchange, the New York Mercantile Exchange, the New York Board of Trade, OneChicago, the Kansas City Board of Trade and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C., will be closed on Friday. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the 11 other regional Reserve Banks will be open, however, and will provide all financial services as usual during normal business hours.

Several other market utilities also will be open. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation announced that its subsidiaries responsible for transaction processing of U.S. securities will remain open in order to clear and settle securities trades from earlier market activity. The company said it will also process maturing money market instruments and follow normal allocation procedures for any periodic principal, dividend and interest payments due that day. DTCC’s fixed income business, as well as those involved in global corporate action services and credit default swaps, will operate as normal.

The Options Clearing Corp. has issued a notice alerting clearing members that Friday will be a “normal business day” with respect to processing operations. OCC will allow option exercises in the normal fashion, and all OCC settlement banks will be open for settlement on Friday. Although there will be no trading on any exchanges that participate in the OCC, Friday will be a valid settlement date, with no adjustment for the national day of mourning, the notice said.

Eurex U.S. has announced that it will be closed Friday. Trading will resume Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. CST. Large trader and open interest reporting deadlines will be extended until Sunday p.m. and Monday a.m., with reporting times remaining unchanged. Early and final SPAN files will be produced and disseminated at their regular scheduled times on Thursday, June 10 and Monday, June 14. The Clearing Corp. will be closed on Friday and has announced an adjusted processing schedule for the days preceding and following Friday.

The Bond Market Association has recommended that all fixed-income cash markets close Friday in honor of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The recommendation applies to trading of U.S. dollar denominated U.S. Government and Agency securities, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, over-the-counter investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds, municipal bonds and secondary money market trading in bankers acceptances, commercial paper and Yankee and Euro certificates of deposit. The association said it is preparing to issue a more detailed recommendation, including more guidance on settlement issues.

Several futures exchanges have announced special arrangements as a result of the closing. Nymex said it will move the expiration for Brent crude oil options, Brent/West Texas Intermediate spread options and Brent crude oil calendar spread options to Thursday from Friday. The exchange also said will hold a five-minute end-of-week post-close trading session on Thursday instead of the two-minute session normally held on Mondays through Thursdays.

Nybot initially said it planned to close the exchange’s trading facility in Dublin, Ireland, but on Wednesday reversed course and announced that Finex would remain open on Friday from 3:00 a.m. to 9:05 a.m. Trading in all other Nybot products, including the Finex New York evening session, will be suspended on Friday. The exchange also has moved the last trading day for the July coffee, sugar, cotton and ethanol options and the June Reuters CRB futures and options from Friday to Monday, June 14. Friday will be the last trading day for the June Dollar-Hungarian Forint futures and the Euro-Hungarian Forint futures. Trading in these pairs will cease at 9:05 a.m EST.

CME said electronic trading on Globex will be open for an abbreviated session, closing at 8:00 a.m. CST on Friday morning and reopening as usual at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 13. In a change of policy, CME announced Wednesday that it will close its open outcry markets on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. CST. The exchange had announced previously that it would extend the open outcry trading hours for interest rate and foreign exchange products until 2:30 p.m. CST on Thursday, so that its trading pits will be open following the release of the producer price index. The PPI release has been delayed indefinitely, however.

The CME clearinghouse will be staffed on Friday to facilitate trade and clearing processing, deliveries, and banking and asset management processing. For more details on changes to clearing and delivery processing, value dates, collateral submission deadlines and other operational matters, please use the Web link to the CME notice posted below.

CBOT said its electronic trading platform will be open for an abbreviated session, with agricultural products closing at 6:00 a.m. CST, $10 Dow futures and options at 7:00 a.m., and all other financial futures and options products, including the mini Dow futures and options, at 8:00 a.m. KCBT noted that crop production and supply & demand reports, a potentially market-moving indicator, will be released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture a day early on Thursday instead of Friday.

IntercontinentalExchange has announced that it will be available for trading on Friday. The exchange also said that its OTC clearing service will follow a normal schedule on Friday, in keeping with its policy of remaining open in all instances when U.S. markets are closed but U.K. markets are open.

For complete information, the FIA recommends that market participants contact the exchanges and market utilities directly or use the Web links below. The FIA will post updates to this notice on its Web site at: http://www.futuresindustry.org/press-center.asp?i=1163.

By way of background, the New York Stock Exchange noted that it closed trading for a day on several other occasions in observance of presidential funerals, most recently in the case of former President Richard Nixon’s funeral in 1994, former President Lyndon Johnson’s funeral in 1973, and former President Harry Truman’s funeral in 1972.

http://www.nyse.com/about/p1020656067652.html?displayPage=%2Fpress%2F1086606031441.html
http://www.cme.com/files/Chadv04-102.PDF
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/pub/cont_detail/0,3206,1032+19969,00.html
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/WhatsNew.asp
http://www.nymex.com/jsp/news/press_releas.jsp?id=pr20040607a
http://www.nybot.com/releases/pressRelease.asp?releaseID=743
http://www.kcbot.com/news_2.asp?id=186&home=1
http://www.onechicago.com/060000_press_news/oc_060000.html
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2004-77.htm
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/other/2004/20040607/
http://www.eurexus.com/download/pdf/Bulletin9.pdf
http://www.clearingcorp.com/bulletins/2004/bulletins/b24-039.html#P2_0
http://www.bondmarkets.com/PR/2004/ReaganClose.shtml
http://www.dtcc.com/PressRoom/2004/reagan.html
http://www.theocc.com/market/infomemos/info_memos_form.jsp
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176358&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=579355&

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Will Acworth
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202-466-5460

FIA Honors Industry Leaders

FIA President John Damgard presented achievement awards to two individuals, Bryan Durkin of the Chicago Board of Trade and Phupinder Gill of Chicago Mercantile Exchange. “These two gentlemen were the moving forces in the implementation of one of the most significant developments of 2003, the common clearing link between the CBOT and CME,” Damgard said during the awards ceremony. “This was a project of extraordinary complexity, and the flawless job they did in moving the clearing operations merits everyone’s gratitude. From the initial planning to the final testing, they did a masterful job.”

The 2004 award for lifetime achievement went to Jack Lehman, the former head of the futures division at Salomon Smith Barney, for his 22 years of service on the FIA board of directors and his long career as the head of one of the leading FCM operations in the industry. Among the highlights of his career were his leadership in defending the futures industry after the 1987 market break, his role as a mentor to some of the best-known traders and executives in the industry, and his efforts to bring talented individuals to the FIA board. “Jack brought enormous energy and a keen business sense to the FIA board,” Damgard said. “He was always a strong voice for intermediaries, pushing for better trading rules and more participation in governance.”

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Will Acworth
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202-466-5460

FIA Elects Officers and Directors

Michael Dawley, Goldman, Sachs & Co., was elected Chairman; Joseph Murphy, Refco LLC, was elected Vice Chairman; and Wendell Kapustiak, Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith, Inc., was elected Secretary/Treasurer.

The FIA also announced the composition of its board for 2004: Richard Berliand, J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd; Patrice Blanc, FIMAT Group; Peter Borish, OneChicago; William Brodsky, Chicago Board Options Exchange; Philippe Buhannic, Trading Screen Inc.; Kevin Collins, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.; Chris Damilatis, Prudential Financial Derivatives LLC; John Damgard, FIA; James Davison, Cargill Investor Services, Inc.; Robert Felker, Banc One Capital Markets; Sandy Fleischman, Lehman Brothers Inc.; Richard Ferina, Carr Futures Inc.; Kenneth Ford, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation; Alan Genn, UBS Securities LLC; Alice Hackett, Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; Ronald Hersch, Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc.; William McCoy, Morgan Stanley; David Mitchell, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft; Charles Nastro; Ira Polk, Man Financial Inc.; Kenneth Raisler, Sullivan & Cromwell; Edward Rosen, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton; Mark Rosenberg, SSARIS Advisors Inc.; Mark Rzepczynski, John W. Henry & Co., Inc.; Steven Winter, Barclays Capital Inc.; and Allan Zavarro, ABN AMRO Incorporated.

Todd Petzel, Azimuth Alternative Assets, and Robert Fink were re-elected as public directors. Peter Borish was named Chairman of The Institute for Financial Markets.

Berliand, Collins, Davison, Felker, Ferina, Ford, Hersch and Polk were elected to serve on the executive committee along with the officers and the FIA president.

At the first board meeting, the board received Hackett’s resignation and elected Michael Schaefer, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to the board.

Retiring from the board since the last FIA Annual Meeting during Boca 2003 were: William Heinzerling, Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; Jack Lehman; and Craig Smithson, formerly with UBS, now with Limelight Investment Corp..

Chairman Dawley named special advisors to the FIA board: Jane Carlin, Credit Suisse First Boston; John Gaine, Managed Funds Association; James Gary, Future Dynamics; Lehman; Smithson; and Didier Varlet, Ubitrade.

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Will Acworth
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Global futures and options trading up 30.5% in 2003

Trading in 2003 increased 30.5% or 1.90 billion contracts from the previous year. Turnover in futures reached 2.97 billion, up 27.8% from the previous year. Options trading grew more rapidly, rising 32.1% to 5.14 billion contracts.

Volume rose in all sectors of the market, but the category with the greatest increase was trading in equity indices. In 2003, global turnover in this category surged 41.9% to 3.96 billion contracts worldwide. The Korea Stock Exchange’s Kospi 200 futures and options contract accounted for 2.90 billion contracts in 2003. Without the Kospi included, global equity index trading increased 23.58% to a total of 1.06 billion contracts in 2003.

Interest rate trading increased by 27.3% to a total of 1.88 billion contracts. The TIIE 28 futures contract at the Mexican Derivatives Exchange (MexDer) had the greatest absolute increase in this category, up 101.1% to 162.08 million contracts in 2003. By the end of 2003, the contract was the fourth largest in terms of volume worldwide, after the KSE’s Kospi options, Eurex’s Eurobund futures, and CME’s Eurodollar futures.

Agricultural commodities moved past energy products, trading 261.15 million contracts in 2003, 61.77 million more contracts in 2003 than in 2002. This was due in part to the Dalian Commodity Exchange’s soybean contract, which traded 60.00 million contracts in 2003, compared to 12.69 million in 2002. Energy products traded 217.56 million, gaining only 8.19 million contracts.

Several exchanges were included in this year’s survey for the first time: the Australian Stock Exchange, Brazil’s Bovespa, China’s DCE, and MexDer. Year-end totals for 2002 were revised to include these exchanges.

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Will Acworth or Megan DeGrandis
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Related links:

Volume data

Volume Up Strongly in First Half of 2003

Domestic futures and options trading increased 17.7 percent, to reach 1,031.0 million contracts traded in the first half of 2003. Domestic futures trading increased 28.0 percent, to reach 498.3 million contracts traded, and options trading increased 9.5 percent, to a total of 532.7 million contracts.

International volume was up 47.8 percent overall, to reach 2,794.1 million contracts traded. There was a 41.0 percent increase in futures trading, to a total of 937.8 million contracts, and a 51.5 percent increase in options trading, for a total of 1,856.3 million contracts traded in the first half of 2003.

Some highlights of the first half of the year follow:
· U.S. equity index futures traded 143.3 million contracts, up 71.7 percent on the year.
· U.S. interest rate futures were up by 18.3 percent, to a total of 239.6 million contracts traded.
· International interest rate futures were up 41.4 percent to reach 554.3 million contracts traded.
· The Mexican Derivatives Exchange’s TIIE 28-day interest rate contract had the greatest absolute increase of any futures contract, up 59.8 million, almost tripling its first half 2002 volume.
· Global trading in security futures increased 22.6 percent to a total of over 22 million contracts traded worldwide in the first half of 2003.
· Gold futures gained a third at both the Tokyo Commodity Exchange and NYMEX in the first half of the year and now account for half of precious metals trading worldwide.
· Eurex’s Euro-Bund became the most actively-traded futures contract in the world, surpassing the CME’s Eurodollar futures contract.

FOR FULL PRESS RELEASE INCLUDING VOLUME DATA, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

All volume data includes options on securities as well as futures and options on futures.
*Subtracting the KSE's options on the KOSPI 200, overall global trading volume increased 25.8 percent, up 291.7 million contracts over the first half of 2002.

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Will Acworth or Megan DeGrandis
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Volume Data

FIX Protocol Ltd. and The Futures Industry Association Sign Statement of Understanding

Under this agreement, FIA and FPL representatives will jointly serve on FPL's Global Derivatives Committee (GDC) to further address the needs of the derivatives marketplace. Additionally, both organizations will leverage their support resources for joint marketing and educational events. As Jim Northey, FPL Global Derivatives Committee Chair articulated, "This Statement of Understanding formalizes what has long been a productive working relationship. The input of the FIA Standards Working Group was invaluable in adding derivative functionality to FIX 4.4."

John Damgard, president of FIA agreed, "Derivatives industry participants including exchanges, vendors and financial institutions are all represented by our membership. Working together we will succeed in further developing and promoting standardization."

The FIA/FPL Statement of Understanding is available on the FPL website at www.fixprotocol.org and the FIA website at www.futuresindustry.org/downloads/Standards/FIXAgreement2003July.pdf.

About FIX Protocol Ltd.
FIX Protocol Ltd. is a non-profit organisation that owns the intellectual property rights of the Financial Information eXchange protocol (FIX), which is provided free in the public domain. FIX is a globally recognized messaging standard enabling the electronic communication of pre-trade and trade messages between financial institutions, primarily investment managers, broker/dealers, ECNs and stock exchanges. For more information, see www.fixprotocol.org.

About Futures Industry Association
The FIA is a U.S.-based international association that acts as a principal spokesman for the futures and options industry. Its membership includes approximately 40 of the largest futures commission merchants. FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 90 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets.

Contact
Mr. Jim Northey at: +1 (312) 622-7630 (FPL)
Mr. John Damgard at: + 1 (202) 466-5460 ext. 104 (FIA)
Mr. Tom Jordan at: + 1 (212) 652-4460 (FPL Program Office)

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Jim Northey
+1 (312) 622-7630

FIA President Statement on Regulatory Approval Process

“The CFTC is providing only three business days for the public to analyze these rules and submit comments. To make a thorough examination within such a short time-frame is an impossible task for our member firms, and we presume for other interested parties as well,” Damgard said.

“We recognize the desire to proceed in a fashion that does not delay the implementation of the CBOT-CME clearing link. We certainly see a number of positive aspects to this link, such as the potential cost savings. However, we believe it is important for the CFTC to carefully consider the implications of determining that the implementing rules comply with the Commodity Exchange Act.

A preliminary reading of the CBOT submission suggests that the proposed regulation 701.01 raises some important legal and policy issues. The CBOT is asking the CFTC for authority to order clearing firms to abrogate the existing contractual relationships between themselves and the clearinghouse. These powers could be used not only in relationship to the CBOT-CME link but at any future time. This is a very broad rule, and we believe the industry deserves more time to consider its implications. Rather than ask the CFTC to act on such a rapid timetable, the CBOT has the option to self-certify its rules, as it has done with other parts of the clearing link implementing rules.”

The FIA is a U.S.-based international association that acts as a principal spokesman for the futures and options industry. Its membership includes approximately 40 of the largest futures commission merchants. FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 90 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets.

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Will Acworth
wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

FIA Comments on CBOT/CME Link

“We need more information about the exchanges' plans before clearing members can assess the implications of this proposal,” said FIA President John M. Damgard. "Presently, the details are not available and have not been discussed with the clearing members of both exchanges. In the coming months, as the exchanges work out the details of this initiative, we urge them to include the clearing members in the planning process.”

Futures commission merchants will need to consider the business repercussions of the CBOT's decision to terminate its relationship with the Board of Trade Clearing Corp., the membership and clearing rules of the new clearinghouse they will be required to join, and the terms of the linkage between the new CBOT clearinghouse and the CME. These issues could affect the financial requirements for both clearing firms and their customers to trade futures in the U.S.

In the next few weeks, the FIA intends to hold a meeting with its FCM members to assess the proposal and its implications for the futures industry. The FIA has asked representatives of the exchanges to attend the meeting to give them an opportunity to more fully describe the proposed link.

"The FIA has a history of supporting positive clearing initiatives,” said Damgard. “The exchanges are correct that futures commission merchants and their customers have long maintained that there is room for improving clearing arrangements. We look forward to looking at this new proposal and we hope we can have constructive discussions on how to implement any change.”

The FIA's regular membership consists of 40 clearing firms who collectively provide the majority of capital that supports the clearing process at U.S. exchanges. At the end of 2002, clearing firms had $27.4 billion in margin assets deposited at the CME Clearing House and $4.7 billion at the BOTCC.

The Futures Industry Association is the international trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes 40 of the largest futures commission merchants. The FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 80 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets. FIA membership also includes more than 40 international futures and options exchanges and clearinghouses in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

For more information, contact Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth at 202-466-5460 or maburns@futuresindustry.org or wacworth@futuresindustry.org.

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For more information, contact:

Will Acworth
wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

FIA Elects Officers and Directors

Michael C. Dawley, Goldman, Sachs & Co., was elected Chairman; Joseph J. Murphy, Refco LLC, was elected Vice Chairman; and Wendell Kapustiak, Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith, was elected Secretary/Treasurer.

The FIA also announced the composition of its board for 2003 (an * indicates that the director has been elected since the last annual meeting): Richard Berliand, J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd. *Patrice Blanc, Fimat USA, Inc. Peter F. Borish, OneChicago, LLC William J. Brodsky, Chicago Board Options Exchange Philippe Buhannic, TradingScreen Inc. *Kevin Collins, Deutsche Bank AG *James A. Davison, Cargill Investor Services, Inc. W. Robert Felker, Banc One Capital Markets *Richard A. Ferina, Carr Futures Inc. Kenneth M. Ford, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation *William Heinzerling, Salomon Smith Barney Inc. Ronald M. Hersch, Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. Alex H. Ladouceur, Prudential Financial Jack H. Lehman III *William F. McCoy, Morgan Stanley *David S. Mitchell, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft Charles P. Nastro, Lehman Brothers Inc. *Ira Polk, Man Financial Inc. Kenneth M. Raisler, Sullivan & Cromwell Edward J. Rosen, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton Mark Rosenberg, SSARIS Advisors Inc. Mark Rzepczynski, John W. Henry & Co., Inc. Craig F. Smithson, UBS Warburg *Steven R. Winter, Barclays Capital Inc. *Allan B. Zavarro, ABN AMRO Incorporated

Todd E. Petzel, Azimuth Alternative Assets, and Robert E. Fink were re-elected as public directors. John M. Damgard, President of the FIA, and Margaret M. (Peggy) Eisen, Chairman of The Institute for Financial Markets, also serve on the board.

Retiring from the board are: Marc Breillout, Fimat Group Jane D. Carlin, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation Kevin R. Davis, Man Financial Inc. James A. Gary Paul N. Lewis, Deutsche Bank AG Laurence E. Mollner, Mariah Trading Company LLC Didier Varlet Jan Waye, Cargill Investor Services, Inc.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns
maburns@futuresindustry.org
(202) 466-5460

2002 Annual Volume

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Will Acworth
wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Futures and Options Volume Heading for Record Year

CHICAGO, IL—Nov. 6—Statistics gathered by the Futures Industry Association indicate that the demand for exchange-traded derivatives is hitting record levels this year, driven by turmoil in the equity markets, an uncertain economic outlook, and a flight to safety in the energy sector.
Total worldwide turnover in futures, options on futures and options on securities reached 4.32 billion contracts in the first nine months of 2002, up 40 percent on the same period of 2001. Going into the fourth quarter, there is no sign of a slowdown in trading activity, making it increasingly likely that futures and options exchanges will have another record-setting year.
The upward trend was nearly universal, with only seven out of the top 20 exchanges worldwide reporting a decline in Jan-Sept. volume from the year-ago period. Equity index products are having an especially strong year, but derivatives based on interest rates, energy products, precious metals, individual stocks, and foreign currencies also showed robust rates of growth.
“The growth in contract volume has been exceptionally robust this year, reflecting the strong demand among customers for risk management products and the increasing availability of futures and options worldwide,” said John Damgard, president of the FIA.
Leading the way was the Korea Stock Exchange, the home of the world’s most active exchange-traded derivative, the option on the Kospi 200 stock index. More than 1.25 billion Kospi 200 options changed hands in the first nine months of 2002, an increase of 781.1 million from the year-ago period. This contract alone accounted for 63 percent of the global increase in trading activity.
In the U.S., the turnover in exchange-traded derivatives rose 17 percent to 1.37 billion contracts, with strong gains at futures exchanges offsetting a slight decline at options exchanges.
Trading activity on U.S. futures exchanges surged to 787.7 million contracts in the first nine months of 2002, an increase of 36 percent on the year-ago period. Interest rate futures and options on futures rose 31 percent to 440. 6 million contracts; equity index futures and options on futures jumped 93 percent to 153.3 million; and energy futures and options on futures rose 33 percent to 86.7 million contracts.
The trend at options exchanges was a different story, however. Options on equity indices rose by nearly 13 million contracts to 72.3 million, but options on individual equities fell by almost 20 million contracts to 511.4 million. The net result was that turnover at U.S. options exchanges fell by just over one percent.
Trading activity outside the U.S. rose 54 percent to 2.95 billion contracts in the first nine months of the year. Options trading at the Korea Stock Exchange accounted for the bulk of the increase, but strong contributions also came from equity index futures, up 36 percent to 219.3 million, and energy futures, up 19 percent to 67.9 million.
Non-U.S. trading in interest rate futures and options rose only nine percent from the year-ago period. Options on individual securities rose 28 percent to 424.5 million contracts, in contrast to the decline seen in the U.S. Single stock futures, still not available in the U.S., rose 159 percent to 23.7 million contracts.

Third Quarter Data

Global trading volume in futures and options surged 43 percent in the third quarter compared to the year-ago quarter, with equity index, interest rate and energy products leading the way.
Trading activity at U.S. futures exchanges grew very rapidly in the third quarter, jumping 51 percent to 294.9 million contracts. U.S. options exchanges also had a strong quarter, with volume up nearly 18 percent to 200.9 million contracts. On a combined basis, turnover on U.S. derivatives exchanges rose 35 percent to 495.8 million contracts.
The increase in trading activity was seen in almost all types of contracts, including the tangible commodities. Weather-related factors helped push up demand for agricultural derivatives, especially wheat, with turnover at U.S. exchanges rising 22 percent to 28.5 million contracts. Energy derivatives continued their rapid ascent, with turnover rising 38 percent to 28.8 million contracts. And precious metals derivatives surged 39 percent to 3.6 million contracts.
Among the financials, the interest rate and equity index categories were the main drivers. Nearly 160 million interest rate futures and options changed hands at U.S. exchanges during the third quarter, an increase of 45 million or 39 percent on the year-ago quarter. Equity index futures nearly tripled in volume, rising by 39 million to 65.4 million contracts traded during the quarter. And volume in equity index options reached nearly 30 million during the quarter, an increase of nine million contracts or 44 percent.
Outside the U.S., turnover in exchange-traded futures and options surged 47 percent to over one billion contracts, approximately twice the turnover in the U.S. The bulk of the increase came from the Kospi 200 options contract traded at the Korea Stock Exchange, but strong volume increases were also seen in equity index futures, up 51 percent, interest rate futures, up 22 percent, and energy futures, up 21 percent.
The most active derivatives exchange worldwide during the quarter was once again the Korea Stock Exchange, with total volume nearly doubling to 507.1 million contracts. Eurex ranked second, followed by Euronext, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the Chicago Board of Trade. Of the top 20 exchanges, only five reported smaller volumes than in the third quarter of 2001.
The most active contract during the quarter was the Kospi 200 options contract, which more than doubled its volume to 497 million. No other contract came even close to having that scale of volume. Of the top 20 contracts, six were traded at Eurex, four at the CME, and three each at the CBOT and Euronext.

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Will Acworth
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Related links:

Click Here for Full Release including Charts and Graphs

SIA, FIA Commend SEC and CFTC for Final Rules for Security Futures Products

“I commend Jim Newsome and Harvey Pitt and their staffs for taking two very different approaches to regulation and blending them into a workable and balanced set of rules,” says FIA President John M. Damgard. “We believe these products will be a valuable addition to equity portfolios and we expect them to be an enormous success.”

“While we have yet to see the final details, the fact that the agencies were able to achieve a sensible and balanced set of rules governing these products is testament to how seriously they went about their work, and the dedication and expertise they brought to the table,” said SIA President Marc E. Lackritz.

After months of negotiations between the SEC and CFTC, the CFTC approved its version of the final rules on July 2 which was followed today by the SEC. The final rules are designed to preserve the financial integrity of security futures markets by establishing minimum levels of margin that customers will have to post for their positions in security futures. The rules also seek to prevent regulatory arbitrage between security futures and security options by establishing "comparable" margin requirements for both classes of derivative instruments.

The final rules appear to be substantially more workable than the proposed rules issued last fall. They incorporate a number of suggestions put forward by the joint FIA/SIA Security Futures Steering Committee and other market participants, and do not include certain provisions in the proposed rules that were viewed as particularly burdensome.

Lackritz and Damgard also commended the members of the FIA/SIA joint committee and its Chairman, Jonathan Barton, Morgan Stanley, for their considerable work with the regulators over the past year to ensure a smooth introduction for security futures products.

While the SEC's approval of margin rules for security futures is a major event in the introduction of security futures, several things remain to be done, including having the self-regulatory organizations provide additional guidance to securities firms that will be engaged in trading these products. The FIA/SIA steering committee will monitor the progress being made in creating a suitable regulatory framework for these products and assist government and industry regulators in that effort.

With the publication of the margin rules, the SEC and CFTC have completed their portion of the regulatory framework necessary to permit these products to be traded. The final rules will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. If the SRO rules are also in place, the exchanges could be free to trade these products in September.

Background
The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 for the first time permitted the trading of futures on narrow based indices and single stocks which are products that straddle the traditional categories of “securities” and “futures.” Because single stock futures don’t easily fit into either of the pre-existing categories, the CFMA directed that these products be treated as both “securities” and “futures” and, accordingly, subject to regulation by both the SEC and the CFTC. The two regulatory regimes have evolved over decades, and while they are broadly similar in some respects, they differ in many details, and often achieve conceptually similar regulatory goals through very different mechanisms.

Securities Industry Association
The Securities Industry Association brings together the shared interests of more than 600 securities firms to accomplish common goals. SIA member-firms (including investment banks, broker-dealers, and mutual fund companies) are active in all U.S. and foreign markets and in all phases of corporate and public finance. The U.S. securities industry manages the accounts of nearly 93 million investors directly and indirectly through corporate, thrift, and pension plans. In the year 2001, the industry generated $198 billion in U.S. revenue and $358 billion in global revenues. Securities firms employ approximately 750,000 individuals in the United States.

Futures Industry Association
The Futures Industry Association is the international trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes more than 40 of the largest futures commission merchants. FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 80 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets. FIA membership also includes more than 40 international futures and options exchanges and clearinghouses in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns, Will Acworth
maburns@futuresindustry.org, wacworth@futuresindustry.org
(202) 466-5460, (202) 466-5460

FIA Adopts Error Trade Recommendations

Electronic trading has redefined the way exchanges handle trading errors and has raised issues that challenge the integrity of the marketplace on which the error occurs. A special committee began meeting last year to review error trade policies and procedures at principal international futures exchanges. The FIA board endorsed the findings of the special committee at its June meeting.

“It is critical to the financial integrity of the market to have an error policy that is fair and widely understood,” said FIA President John M. Damgard. “The committee has done an outstanding job of reviewing existing error trade procedures, talking with market participants and developing these best practices which will go a long way in insuring confidence in those markets that adopt them.”

The recommendations cover price limits, defined no-bust range, timing for resolution, notice to the market, effect on other transactions and dispute resolution forums. The committee met with exchanges, hosted a roundtable at the FIA International Futures Industry Conference in March and reviewed the CFTC Technology Advisory Committee’s Market Access Subcommittee’s Best Practices for Organized Electronic Markets. The report includes charts summarizing the policies and procedures of selected U.S. and non-U.S. exchanges.

The committee was co-chaired by Chris Hehmeyer, Goldenberg, Hehmeyer & Co. and Ron Oppenheimer, Merrill Lynch. The full text of the report is located at www.futuresindustry.org/downloads/divisions/ErrorTradeBestPractices.doc.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns or Will Acworth
202-466-5460

Futures Industry Association Elects Officers and Directors

W. Robert Felker, Banc One Capital Markets, was re-elected Chairman; Ronald M. Hersch, Bear, Stearns & Co., Incorporated, was elected Vice Chairman; and Joseph Murphy, Refco Inc. was elected Secretary/Treasurer.

New directors elected for a two-year term include Michael Dawley, Goldman, Sachs & Co.; Wendell Kapustiak, Merrill Lynch; and Alex Ladouceur, Prudential Securities Incorporated.

New directors elected for a one-year term include Mark Rzepczynski, John W. Henry & Co. and Jane D. Carlin, Morgan Stanley.

Re-elected were Richard Berliand, J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd.; Marc Breillout, FIMAT Group; Kevin R. Davis, Man Financial Inc.; Kenneth M. Ford, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation; James A. Gary, ABN AMRO Incorporated; Jack H. Lehman III, Salomon Smith Barney Inc.; Laurence E. Mollner, Mariah Trading Co. LLC; Joseph Murphy, Refco, Inc.; Kenneth M. Raisler, Sullivan & Cromwell; Mark Rosenberg, SSARIS Advisors Inc.; and Craig F. Smithson, UBS Warburg.

Other directors currently on the board are: Peter F. Borish, Computer Trading Corporation; William J. Brodsky, Chicago Board Options Exchange; Philippe Buhannic, TradingScreen; W. Robert Felker, Banc One Capital Markets; Ronald M. Hersch, Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc.; Paul N. Lewis, Deutsche Bank AG; Charles P. Nastro, Lehman Brothers Inc.; Edward J. Rosen, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton; Didier Varlet, Carr Futures Inc.; and Jan R. Waye, Cargill Investor Services, Inc. Todd E. Petzel, Commonfund Asset Management Company, Inc. and Robert E. Fink were re-elected as public directors.

John M. Damgard, President of FIA and Margaret M. Eisen, De Guardiola Advisors, Inc. and Chairman of The Institute for Financial Markets, also serve on the board.

FIA is the national trade organization for the futures industry. Its membership includes more than 50 of the largest futures commission merchants. FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 80 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns
maburns@futuresindustry.org
(202) 466-5460

World Futures and Options Volume Up More Than 50 Percent in 2001

Futures and options volume on non-U.S. exchanges reached 2,306.0 million contracts for January-December 2001, a 67.8 percent gain from 2000. Total U.S. futures and options volume grew to 877.3 million, a 35.3 percent increase over previous-year figures. (See Table 1 for breakdown of volume figures.)

The total volume on global exchanges surged thanks to a substantial increase in tradingof financial futures. Financials surged 75.3 percent globally in 2001, rising from 1,568.8 to2,749.8 million contracts traded. Trading of equity indexes jumped 117.9 percent, up to 1,470.3from 674.8 million contracts, while interest rate contracts gained 44.0 percent, rising from 844.3million to 1,216.0 million. Non-financial contracts, however, experienced a 4.5 percent decline to433.5 million from 453.6 million. Agricultural and metal trading dropped 15.7 percent and 2.3percent respectively, while energy trading rose 7.8 percent.

The KOSPI 200 equity options (KSE) contract earned honors as the contract with the largest percentage increase over the previous year—its volume rose to 823.3 million, an increase of 324.8 percent. The 3-Month Eurodollar (CME) contract took second place, up 70.2percent to 184.0 (see Table 2). The contract with the largest percent decline was Euronext Brussels Mini Bel 20 Equity Index contract, down 90.8 percent to 2.2 million contracts. Euronext Paris’ Euro Notional Bond contract lost almost 60.0 percent in volume, trading only 17.3 millioncontracts last year.

The top four exchanges in global futures volume last year remained the same as in 2000. Eurex retained its position as the world leader in futures volume, with 435.1million contracts traded, a 50.1 percent increase over 2000. CME held on to the number two slotwith 316.0 million contracts changing hands, a 62.0 percent increase. Taking third place, the CBOT’s total futures volume grew 10.7 percent to 210.0 million and fourth-place LIFFE jumped52.8 percent to 161.5 million contracts traded (see Table 3).

The Korea Stock Exchange was the number one exchange for total futures and options volume in 2001. KSE’s 854.8 million contracts traded represents a 300 percent increase overthe previous year and moves KSE from the number four slot in 2000 to number one in 2001. (Eurex, CME, CBOT and LIFFE followed, respectively—see Table 3.) In futures-only volume,KSE ranked number 11, up from the number 16 slot in 2000. Its surge in the ranks is attributableto the exchange’s small stock index contract, KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index).

The FIA is a U.S.-based international association that acts as a principal spokesman forthe futures and options industry. The membership, which has its roots in the brokeragecommunity, now represents all facets of the futures industry, including many internationalexchanges. FIA actively works to preserve the system of free and competitive markets byrepresenting the interests of the industry in connection with legislative and regulatory issues.The FIA has been collecting and disseminating U.S. volume since 1960 and non-U.S. volumesince 1986.

*FIA volume figures do not include options on individual equities unless otherwise noted.

Note: U.S. volume figures represent 10 U.S. futures and securities exchanges (CantorExchange not reporting). For a list of the exchanges included in the volume reports, contact theFIA. For further information, please contact Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) orMegan DeGrandis (mdegrandis@futuresindustry.org) at 202-466-5460.

CLICK HERE to view volume figures.

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For more information, contact:

Will Acworth
wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Futures and Options Volume On Path to Record Year

“This level of activity, coming at a time when the U.S. economy has entered a recession, reflects the steady growth in customer demand for the risk management products that our industry provides,” said FIA President John Damgard.

In the first 10 months of 2001, futures volume at U.S. exchanges reached 514.5 million, up 25 percent over the comparable period of last year, while volume in options on futures and options on securities increased by 9.4 percent to 746.6 million. (See Table 1). Year-to-date volume in interest rate products gained 44.7 percent, while equity index products rose 59.8 percent.

The growth in trading volume was generated primarily at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which experienced a 75.2 percent increase in trading activity over last year (See Table 2). Trading of the CME’s Eurodollar futures and options doubled to 218.9 million and accounted for nearly three-quarters of the increase in the exchange’s total volume. The CME’s E-Mini contracts also showed very strong rates of growth.

The Chicago Board of Trade, the nation’s second largest futures exchange in volume terms, also contributed to the growth trend, with a 6.4 percent rise in overall trading in the first 10 months of the year. Although the number of 30-year Treasury bond contracts traded during the period fell by 6.05 million contracts, that decline was more than offset by a 6.75 million rise in the number of 10-year Treasury note contracts traded at that exchange (See table 3).

More than 491 million futures contracts changed hands in 2000, an increase of 2.8 percent over the previous year. Trading in all categories of exchange-traded derivatives—including futures, options on futures, and options on securities—reached 1.3 billion contracts, up 19.3 percent on the previous year.

According to FIA statistics, 1998 was the previous all-time record year for the futures industry. The volume totals for that year were 503.2 million futures and 127.5 million options on futures. The Jan-Oct trading volumes for 2001 have already surpassed the full-year records set in 1998 for futures and options on futures; the trading volume for options on securities is running ahead of last year’s record pace but has not yet surpassed the full year total in 2000 of 719.1 million.

The FIA is a U.S.-based international association that acts as a principal spokesman for the futures and options industry. The membership, which has its roots in the brokerage community, now represents all facets of the futures industry, including many international exchanges. FIA actively works to preserve the system of free and competitive markets by representing the interests of the industry in connection with legislative and regulatory issues. The FIA has been collecting and disseminating U.S. volume since 1960 and non-U.S. volume since 1986.

Note: U.S. volume figures represent 12 U.S. futures and securities excxenges (Cantor Exchange unavailable). For a list of the exchanges included in the volume reports, contact the FIA. For further information, please contact Will Acworth (wacworth@futuresindustry.org) or Megan DeGrandis (mdegrandis@futuresindustry.org) at 202-466-5460.

Table 1
Domestic Futures and Options Volume

	Jan-Oct 00	Jan-Oct 01	Vol. Change	% Change
TOTAL FUTURES	411,765,856	514,534,959	102,769,103	25.0%
TOTAL OPTIONS ON FUTURES	86,671,757	133,735,989	47,064,232	54.3%
TOTAL OPTIONS ON SECURITIES	595,689,593	612,867,637	17,178,044	2.9%
GRAND TOTAL	>1,094,127,206	1,261,138,585	167,011,379	15.3%

Table 2
Volume by Exchange

	Jan-Oct 00	Jan-Oct 01	Vol. Change	% Change
AMEX	170,917,039	174,504,110	3,587,071	2.1%
CBOE	275,764,454	262,347,415	-13,417,039	-4.9%
CBOT	197,867,938	210,467,819	12,599,881	6.4%
CME	190,401,658	333,625,409	143,223,751	75.2%
KCBOT	2,248,924	2,240,751	-8,173	-0.4%
MIDAM	1,517,414	548,817	-968,597	-63.8%
MGE	846,665	847,826	1,161	0.1%
NYBOT	17,431,841	15,006,380	-2,425,461	-13.9%
NYMEX	88,123,173	85,533,946	-2,589,227	-2.9%
PSE	90,574,353	88,248,082	-2,326,271	-2.6%
PHLX	58,433,747	87,768,030	29,334,283	50.2%

Table 3
Top Ten Contracts by Absolute Volume

Contract	Commodity	Jan-Oct 00	Jan-Oct 01	Vol. Change	% Change
3 Month Eurodollar Futures, CME	Interest	90,401,234	149,631,019	59,229,785	65.5%
3 Month Eurodollar Options, CME	Interest	23,019,049	69,292,451	46,273,402	201.0%
U.S.T-Bonds Futures, CBOT	Interest	53,995,803	47,946,921	-6,048,882	-11.2%
Ten Year T-Notes Futures, CBOT	Interest	38,873,890	45,625,926	6,752,036	17.4%
E Mini S&P 500 Futures, CME	Equity	15,695,292	31,882,399	16,187,107	103.1%
Crude Oil Futures, NYMEX	Energy	31,437,747	31,865,663	427,916	1.4%
E-Mini NASDAQ 100 Futures, CME	Equity	7,859,834	26,573,778	18,713,944	238.1%
Five Year T-Notes Futures, CBOT	Interest	19,429,630	24,386,253	4,956,623	25.5%
S&P 500 Index Options (SPX), CBOE	Equity	18,530,998	19,150,977	619,979	3.3%
S&P 500 Index Futures, CME	Equity	18,617,638	18,662,040	44,402	0.2%
Exchange Traded Funds, CBOE	Equity	N/A	18,238,503	18,238,503	N/A

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For more information, contact:

Will Acworth
wacworth@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

FIA Commends the SEC

"We appreciate the SEC’s willingness to take into consideration and respond positively to the comments that FIA and other members of the futures community submitted on this aspect of security futures regulation," said FIA President John M. Damgard.In its comments, FIA had expressed particular concern about two aspects of the SEC’s proposal. First and most important, the proposed rules would not have allowed notice-registered broker-dealers to become a member of a national securities exchange. As such, FIA argued that "the proposed rules will discriminate against notice registered broker-dealers by affording only full broker-dealers the opportunity of direct access to all markets on which security futures products may be traded." FIA suggested that "each national securities exchange on which security futures products are traded should have the authority to decide whether to accept notice registered broker-dealers as members." The final rules adopt FIA’s recommendation, subject to certain conditions.FIA also commented that the SEC’s proposal to require notice-registered broker-dealers to submit a complete Form BD was unduly burdensome. FIA noted that Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s proposed rules in this regard would require broker-dealers to file only a one-page notice with the National Futures Association. The SEC’s final rules adopt a new form specifically for FCMs wishing to notice register as broker-dealers and would require only basic identification and confirmation that they meet the statutory requirements for notice registration."We are encouraged by the cooperation we have seen between the CFTC and SEC on this issue. The final rules, as revised, will go a long way in assuring the success of these products," said Damgard.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns
maburns@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Futures Industry Association Elects Officers and Directors

New directors elected for a two-year term include Peter C. Lee, Merrill Lynch Futures, Incorporated and Paul N. Lewis, Deutsche Bank AG. Kenneth M. Ford, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation was elected to a one-year term.

Re-elected to the board of directors were Mary Begonia, E.D.& F. Man International Inc.; Peter F. Borish, Computer Trading Corporation; William J. Brodsky, Chicago Board Options Exchange; Philippe Buhannic, Trading Screen Inc.; W. Robert Felker, Banc One Brokerage International Corporation; Ronald M. Hersch, Bear, Stearns & Co, Incorporated; Charles P. Nastro, Lehman Brothers Incorporated; David M. Pryde, J.P. Morgan Futures Incorporated; Edward J. Rosen, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton; Verne O. Sedlacek, John W. Henry & Company, Inc.; Judith A. Smith, Morgan Stanley; Didier Varlet, Carr Futures; and Jan R. Waye, Cargill Investor Services, Incorporated.

Public directors elected to serve a one-year term include Todd E. Petzel, Commonfund Asset Management Company Inc. and Robert E. Fink.

Other directors currently on the board are Marc Breillout, FIMAT Group; James A. Gary, ABN AMRO Incorporated; Jack H. Lehman III, Salomon Smith Barney Incorporated; John V. Hannam, Credit Lyonnais Rouse (USA) Limited; John G. MacFarlane, Tudor Investment Corporation; Laurence E. Mollner, Mariah Trading Co. LLC; Joseph Murphy, Refco Global Futures; Kenneth M. Raisler, Sullivan & Cromwell; Mark Rosenberg, RXR Capital Management; Lawrence D. Ryan, Prudential Securities Incorporated; Craig F. Smithson, UBS Warburg LLC; and Michael Zamkow, Goldman Sachs International.

Special advisors appointed to the board include John F. Benjamin, Salomon Smith Barney Inc., Marcy Engel, Salomon Smith Barney Inc. and John G. Gaine, Managed Funds Association; John M. Damgard, President of FIA and Margaret M. Eisen, De Guardiola Advisors, Inc. and Chairman of the Futures Industry Institute also serve on the board.

The Futures Industry Association (FIA) is a U.S.-based international association that acts as a principal spokesman for the futures industry. Its membership includes more than 70 of the largest futures commission merchants. FIA estimates that its members are responsible for more than 80 percent of all public customer business executed on U.S. contract markets.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns
maburns@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Futures Industry Institute Names New Leadership

“We are very excited to have Phil take over the leadership of the FII,” said FIA President John M. Damgard. “He will be able to use his broad spectrum of experience in all areas of financial services to extend the reach of the FII. At a time when industry change is fast and furious, he is the right person in the right place to take the increasingly important mission of the FII to the next level.”

Thorpe joined the FSA in 1997 as a managing director with responsibility for authorization, enforcement and consumer relations. From 1993 to 1997, he served as chief executive of IMRO, the organization responsible for regulating the investment management industry in the U.K. He is a native of New Zealand where he began his career as a barrister and solicitor. He has also held posts with the Hong Kong Securities Commission, Hong Kong Futures Exchange, U.K Association of Futures Brokers and Dealers and the U.K. Securities and Futures Authority.

FII Director and Executive Vice President Dr. Paula A. Tosini recently announced plans to retire. She has led the FII since its inception in 1989. Dr. Tosini is credited with growing the organization into the premier educational institution for the futures industry and extending its reach into the securities arena. In addition to upgrading the core course on futures and options, she established the FII Data Center, launched flagship products such as the FII Fact Book and ethics training programs and developed the FII Web site.

About the Futures Industry Institute

The Futures Industry Institute was established in 1989 by the Futures Industry Association as a nonprofit, industry-sponsored educational foundation. The FII’s mission is to be the primary source of information and education about the futures, options and other derivatives industries in the United States and currently undertakes a range of consulting, data provision, education and standard setting services. All proceeds from FII training and consulting activities and sales of education materials, after expenses, return to the industry via the development of new materials and programs. The FII is based in Washington, D.C.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns
maburns@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Futures Industry Best Practices Study Released

March 15, 2001

The study identifies core principles and best practices in four areas essential to customer protection: intermediary and customer due diligence in trading relationships; account identification, allocation of bunched orders and unusual account activity; give-up transactions; and the use of new technologies in order flow and execution. The project was overseen by three administrators: Peggy Eisen, Chair, FII, and Managing Director, De Guardiola Advisors, Inc.; Susan Phillips, Dean, The George Washington University School of Business and Public Management; and Robert Wilmouth, President, NFA. The administrators issued the following statement:

This study and its far-reaching recommendations for best practices would not have been possible without the widespread participation of all segments of the global futures industry. We hope it will serve as a catalyst for additional best-practices analyses of customer-protection issues in financial markets.

James Newsome, Acting Chairman of the CFTC, said, “This study is a perfect example of how the Commission can partner with industry to develop recommendations. I commend the administrators and all others who contributed to the best practices study for their hard work, and I’m hopeful we can build upon this partnership by utilizing similar processes in the future.”

The report is available on the Web sites of the FII and NFA, or in hard copy from the Washington, D.C. and Chicago, IL offices of the FII and NFA, respectively.

About Futures Industry Institute

Established in 1989, the Futures Industry Institute (FII) is a nonprofit, industry-sponsored educational foundation. The Institute's mission is to be the primary source of quality, unbiased information, and education about the futures, options and other derivatives industries. All proceeds from FII training and consulting activities and sales of educational materials, after expenses, return to the industry via the development of new materials and programs.

About National Futures Association

National Futures Association (NFA) is a congressionally authorized self-regulatory organization for the U.S. futures industry. Since NFA began operations in 1982, it has been committed to protecting the rights of investors in the futures markets.

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For more information, contact:

Trish Foshee
tfoshee@futureindustry.org
202-223-1528

Related links:

Report: Recommendations for Best Practices

FIA Welcomes CFTC Regulatory Relief

“I would like to commend Chairman Rainer and his staff for their commitment to providing regulatory relief to the U.S. derivatives industry,” said FIA President John M. Damgard. “However, the Commission’s actions today do not lessen in any way the need for Congressional action on H.R. 4541, The Commodity Futures Modernization Act.” The new regulatory framework replaces prescriptive regulations with “core principles” for exchanges and clearinghouses. “FIA looks forward to working with the CFTC next year as they move to replace rules applicable to intermediaries with core principles where appropriate,” says Damgard. The FIA has been an outspoken advocate for the deregulation of the U.S. contract markets, legal certainty for the over-the-counter markets and open access for U.S. customers to international markets. “This reform package goes a long way toward allowing U.S. markets to develop and compete in the global marketplace,” says Damgard. “It will facilitate the development of electronic trading systems and will foster contract innovation.”

The Futures Industry Associaton is a U.S.-based international association that acts as the principal spokesman for the futures and options industry. The membership, which has its roots in the brokerage community, now represents all facets of the futures industry, including many international exchanges. FIA actively works to preserve the system of open and competitive markets. FIA members are responsible for 90 percent of the volume transacted on U.S. futures exchanges.

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For more information, contact:

Tracy Wahler
twahler@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

FIA Futures & Options Expo November 7 – 9, 2000 Hyatt Regency Chicago

Expo’s 100-plus exhibitors display quote equipment, software, publications, educational materials, and products from more than 25 international exchanges. Expo also offers sessions for traders, operations and technology professionals, and senior management from FCMs and exchanges. This year’s sessions include a luncheon with Chairman William J. Rainer of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Mr. Rainer was sworn in as a Commissioner and the eighth Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on August 11, 1999. His experience includes ten years with Kidder, Peabody & Co., Inc., co-founding Greenwich Capital Markets, Chairman of the United States Enrichment Corporation and private investment. Due to the rapidly emerging crossover between the futures industry and business-to-business (B2B) marketplaces, the conference will feature a track of sessions on B2B. In particular the sessions will focus on why B2Bs and traditional futures markets are working together. They will address topics such as adding derivatives to B2B exchanges, regulatory concerns and liquidity.It's been a busy year in Washington. The landmark agreement between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding single stock futures is likely to have an impact on the derivatives business regardless of the outcome of legislation. Hear the latest news on critical issues from the participants in the process. Speakers will include Annette Nazareth, Director, Division of Market Regulation, SEC and C. Robert Paul, General Counsel, CFTC.For complete details and regular updates on the Expo program, please visit the Web site at www.fiafii.org/expo. Please use the attached form to register for the conference or visit the press section of the Expo Web site. If you have any questions, please contact Megan DeGrandis (megan@fiafii.org) or Katherine Gehman (kgehman@fiafii.org) at 202-466-5460. The Futures Industry Association is a U.S.-based international association that acts as a principal spokesman for the futures industry. Its membership includes futures commission merchants, domestic and international exchanges,agre service providers with an interest in the futures industry.

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For more information, contact:

Tracy Wahler
twahler@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

FIA Sponsors B2B @Markets Forum - September 11 - 13, 2000 - Boston

Three workshops kick off the Forum on Monday, September 11: B2B 101, Markets 101, and There's No Free Lunch Brown Bag Lunch: Is There Money in B2Bs? The sessions focus on the basics of B2B marketplaces, provide an overview of the derivatives cash, forwards, futures and over-the-counter derivatives markets, and the outline today's regulatory environment for B2Bs.General sessions on September 12 and 13 include: Analyst Roundtable, the Big Coalitions vs. Independent Market Makers, Beyond Bilateral Clearing, and Evolving Markets: Adding Derivatives to Your B2B Marketplace. Also on September 12 and 13, two workshop tracks cover Designing Markets and Bringing Your B2B To Market. Designing Markets will cover specifics in creating products, execution models, processing trades, delivery mechanisms and best practices. Bringing Your B2B to Market will take a fictional B2B and walk delegates through the process of choosing a corporate structure, intellectual property and anti-trust considerations, privacy issues and going global.More information on the Forum, including a press registration form, is available at www.atmarkets.org/conferences.asp.The FIA (www.fiafii.org/fia) is a U.S.-based international association that acts as a principal spokesman for the futures and options industry. The membership, which has its roots in the brokerage community, represents all facets of the futures industry, including many international exchanges. FIA actively works to preserve the system of free and competitive markets by representing the interests of the industry in connection with legislative and regulatory issues. The FIA has been collecting and disseminating U.S. volume statistics since 1960 and non-U.S. volume since 1986.

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For more information, contact:

Tracy Wahler
twahler@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Futures Industry Technology Information Survey Results Announced

The global futures industry represents U.S. $40 billion, measured by net capital. According to TowerGroup’s Robert Iati, the survey author, “The move towards electronic trading has driven futures brokers to dramatically alter their strategic IT initiatives and re-focus their spending on electronic commerce and exchange connectivity. As futures exchanges around the world continue to consolidate and convert to fully-electronic operation, futures brokers need to significantly improve their e-presence to compete.”

While overall staffing rates in the industry are declining, IT staff is projected to grow 41 percent through 2001. Staff dedicated to e-commerce initiatives will represent nearly one-third of total IT staff, which is twice the 1999 figure. That translates into a 221 percent growth rate in staff dedicated to Internet, intranet, and extranet projects. “Obviously, futures brokers recognize the need to trade experience in manual processing for leading edge technology,” Iati said.

Futures brokers’ e-commerce efforts are increasingly targeted toward institutional clients, who have more services available to them on the Web than does the retail sector. The survey results support the growing focus on business-to-business e-commerce. “Just as in all other financial product areas, the buy-side is increasingly dictating the direction of sell-side technology,” stated Iati.

TowerGroup’s survey was sent to 127 FIA member firms. The responding firms represent 40 percent of the total futures industry, as measured by net capital. The survey results are available at TowerGroup’s Web site: www.towergroup.com.

TowerGroup (www.towergroup.com) is a research, advisory, and consulting firm specializing in information technology strategies and deployment in the global financial services industry. TowerGroup conducts research addressing securities, banking and insurance information systems technologies, products, vendors, markets, investment trends, and issues. TowerGroup serves a global client base, including some of the largest financial, technology, and management-consulting firms in the world. During 1999, TowerGroup completed a study for the Securities Industry Association, titled, “Technology Trends in the Securities Industry: Transition to an Online World.”

The FIA is a U.S.-based international association that acts as a principal spokesman for the futures and options industry. The membership, which has its roots in the brokerage community, now represents all facets of the futures industry, including many international exchanges. FIA actively works to preserve the system of free and competitive markets by representing the interests of the industry in connection with legislative and regulatory issues. The FIA has been collecting and disseminating U.S. volume since 1960 and non-U.S. volume since 1986.

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For more information, contact:

Mary Ann Burns
maburns@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Related links:

Tower Group Survey Results

Futures Industry Association Elects Officers and Directors

Steven D. Spence, Merrill Lynch Futures, Incorporated, was elected Chairman; Philippe Buhannic, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation, was elected Vice Chairman; and W. Robert Felker, Banc One Brokerage International Corporation, was elected Secretary/Treasurer.

New directors elected for a two-year term include Joseph Murphy, Refco, Incorporated; Lawrence D. Ryan, Prudential Securities Incorporated; and Michael Zamkow, Goldman Sachs International. Edward J. Rosen, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton was elected to a one-year term.

Re-elected to the board of directors were Marc Breillout, FIMAT Group; John P. Davidson III, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; James A. Gary, ABN AMRO Incorporated; John V. Hannam, Credit Lyonnais Rouse (USA) Limited; Jack H. Lehman III, Salomon Smith Barney Incorporated; John G. MacFarlane, Tudor Investment Corporation; Laurence E. Mollner, Mariah Investment Co. LLC; Kenneth M. Raisler, Sullivan & Cromwell; Mark Rosenberg, RXR Capital Management Inc.; and Craig F. Smithson, PaineWebber Incorporated.

The new board elected Judith A. Smith, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, to fill the vacancy left by John Davidson’s resignation.

Other directors currently on the board are Mary Begonia, ED&F Man International Incorporated; Peter F. Borish, Computer Trading Corporation; William J. Brodsky, Chicago Board Options Exchange; Ronald M. Hersch, Bear, Stearns & Co., Incorporated; Charles P. Nastro, Lehman Brothers Incorporated; David M. Pryde, J.P. Morgan Futures Incorporated; Verne O. Sedlacek, John W. Henry & Company, Incorporated; Didier Varlet, Carr Futures; and Jan R. Waye, Cargill Investor Services.

Robert Fink, independent and Todd E. Petzel, The Common Fund, were elected public directors. John M. Damgard, President of FIA and Margaret M. Eisen, General Motors Investment Management Corp. and Chairman of the Futures Industry Institute also serve on the board.

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For more information, contact:

Tracy Wahler
twahler@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

Futures Industry Association Nominates Officers and Directors

New directors nominated for a two-year term include Joseph Murphy, Refco, Incorporated; Lawrence D. Ryan, Prudential Securities Incorporated; and Michael Zamkow, Goldman Sachs International. Edward J. Rosen, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton was nominated for a one-year term.

Nominated for re-election to the board of directors were Marc Breillout, FIMAT Group; John P. Davidson III, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; James A. Gary, ABN AMRO Incorporated; John V. Hannam, Credit Lyonnais Rouse (USA) Limited; Jack H. Lehman III, Salomon Smith Barney Incorporated; John G. MacFarlane, Tudor Investment Corporation; Laurence E. Mollner, Mariah Investment Co. LLC; Kenneth M. Raisler, Sullivan & Cromwell; Mark Rosenberg, RXR Capital Management Inc.; and Craig F. Smithson, PaineWebber Incorporated.

Other directors currently on the board are Mary Begonia, ED&F Man International Incorporated; Peter F. Borish, Computer Trading Corporation; William J. Brodsky, Chicago Board Options Exchange; Philippe Buhannic, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation; John M. Damgard, Futures Industry Association; W. Robert Felker, Banc One Brokerage International Corporation; Ronald M. Hersch, Bear, Stearns & Co., Incorporated; Charles P. Nastro, Lehman Brothers Incorporated; David M. Pryde, J.P. Morgan Futures Incorporated; Verne O. Sedlacek, John W. Henry & Company, Inc., Steven D. Spence, Merrill Lynch Futures, Incorporated; Didier Varlet, Carr Futures; and Jan R. Waye, Cargill Investor Services, Incorporated.

Officers of the association as well as the executive committee will be nominated and elected by the new board at the Boca meeting.

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For more information, contact:

Tracy Wahler
twahler@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

World Futures and Options Volume Up 10 Percent in 1999

Futures and options volume on non-U.S. exchanges was 1,296,397,321 for January-December 1999, a 13% gain from 1998. Total U.S. futures and options volume grew to 1,100,861,421, a 7% increase over previous-year figures.

The total volume on U.S. exchanges grew thanks to a 37% surge in trading of options on individual equities, which represented the largest net gain between 1998 and 1999. Last year, 444,765,224 individual equity contracts were traded. Excluding individual equities, trading volume on U.S. exchanges fell 7%.

Both U.S. and non-U.S. exchanges experienced a slight decline in futures trading volume, averaging -4%. The increase in total volume for the year can be attributed to the surge in options trading (up 31%) domestically and abroad.

Euro-Bund futures (Eurex) were the most actively traded contract in 1999, with 121,311,878 contracts changing hands. The 3-Month Eurodollar (CME) retained second place with 93,418,498 contracts traded. Falling from number one in 1998 to earn the number three spot was the U.S. T-Bond (CBOT) contract, which traded 90,042,282, a 20% decrease over previous-year figures. The KOSPI 200 stock index options (Korea Stock Exchange) edged into the number four slot with 79,936,658 contracts traded, a 147% increase.

New to the top ten list are two Eurex contracts: Euro-Bund and Euro-BOBL, introduced last year. Crude oil (NYMEX) also made the list with 37,860,064 contracts traded, a 24% increase over 1998. LIFFE’s 3-Month Euribor contract hit number eight on the chart with 35,657,690 contracts changing hands. The largest percent gain in contract volume on the top ten list was MONEP’s CAC 40 Index (Long-Term) Options contract. Volume jumped 2,648% from 2,752,536 to 75,652,724, partially due to a significant reduction in contract size.

Falling from the list of top ten international contracts and earning the distinction of the largest percent decline (93%) was LIFFE's 3-Month Euromark contract, with 3,785,667 contracts traded.

Eurex surpassed the Chicago Board of Trade as world leader in futures and options volume, with 378,760,300 contracts traded, a 53% increase over last year. CBOT held on to the number two slot with 254,561,215 contracts changing hands, a 9% decline. The Chicago Board Options Exchange jumped ahead of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to earn the number three slot, with 254,356,743 contracts traded. The Korean Stock Exchange edged onto the list for the first time with 97,137,007 futures and options contracts traded, representing a 93% increase over 1998.

The Taiwan Futures Exchange earned the distinction of the largest percent gain in total contract volume between 1998 and 1999 with an increase of 288%. The Belgian Futures and Options Exchange followed closely with a 241% increase, and MONEP earned a 232% increase.

The FIA is a U.S.-based international association that acts as a principal spokesman for the futures and options industry. The membership, which has its roots in the brokerage community, now represents all facets of the futures industry, including many international exchanges. FIA actively works to preserve the system of free and competitive markets by representing the interests of the industry in connection with legislative and regulatory issues. The FIA has been collecting and disseminating U.S. volume since 1960 and non-U.S. volume since 1986.

Note: Current FIA volume figures include futures, options on futures, options on stock indexes and individual equities traded on the world's futures, options, and securities exchanges. U.S. volume figures represent all 13 U.S. exchanges; non-U.S. volume represents 46 of the larger non-U.S. exchanges. For a list of the exchanges included in the volume reports, contact the FIA.

TABLE 1Total Futures and Options Volume
1998-1999
Jan-Dec 1998 Jan-Dec 1999 % change
U.S. Volume 1,033,201,613 1,100,861,421 7%
Non-U.S. Volume 1,142,969,959 1,296,397,321 13%
World Volume 2,176,171,572 2,397,258,742 10%
Futures Volume
1998-1999
Jan-Dec 1998 Jan-Dec 1999 % change
U.S. Volume 503,201,445 477,919,308 -5%
Non-U.S. Volume 798,107,856 775,569,595 -3%
World Volume 1,301,309,301 1,253,488,903 -4%
Options Volume
1998-1999
Jan-Dec 1998 Jan-Dec 1999 % change
U.S. Volume 530,000,168 622,942,113 18%
Non-U.S. Volume 344,862,103 520,827,726 51%
World Volume 874,862,271 1,143,769,839 31%

TABLE 2TopT en International Contracts
Jan-Dec 1998 Jan-Dec 1999 % change
1. Euro-BUND (Eurex)* 2 121,311,878 n/a
2. 3-Month Eurodollar (CME) 109,472,507 93,418,498 -15%
3. U.S. T-Bonds (CBOT) 112,224,081 90,042,282 -20%
4. KOSPI 200 Options (Korea SE) 32,310,812 79,936,658 147%
5. CAC 40 Index LT Options (MONEP)** 2,752,536 75,652,724 2,648%
6. Euro-BOBL (Eurex)0 45,481,843 n/a
7. Crude Oil (NYMEX) 30,495,647 37,860,064 24%
8. 3-Month Euribor (LIFFE) 1,269 35,657,690 n/a
9. U.S. T-Bonds Options(CBOT) 39,941,672 34,680,068 -13%
10. 10-Year T-Notes (CBOT) 32,482,576 34,045,758 5%

* Began trading in late 1998 or 1999
**Contract size significantly reduced in 1999

TABLE 3Top Ten International Exchanges
Jan-Dec 1998 Jan-Dec 1999 % change
1. Eurex* 248,213,435 378,760,300 53%
2. CBOT 281,189,436 254,561,215 -9%
3. CBOE 206,865,991 254,356,743 23%
4. CME 226,618,831 200,737,123 -11%
5. MONEP 53,377,988 177,329,802 70%
6. AMEX 97,644,838 129,651,950 33%
7. LIFFE 194,394,159 120,040,031 -38%
8. NYMEX 95,018,685 109,538,831 15%
9. Korea Stock Exchange 50,204,404 97,137,007 94%
10. Pacific Stock Exchange 59,011,957 75,831,478 29%

Eurex Frankfurt (formerly DTB) 209,550,981 339,426,598 62%
Eurex Zurich (formerly SOFFEX) 38,662,454 39,333,710 2%

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For more information, contact:

Tracy Wahler
twahler@futuresindustry.org
202-466-5460

FIA Announces Successful Industry-Wide Y2K Tests

Results reported from 79 of the 96 participating FCMs (firms that handle customer business) showed that more than 18,000 trades were processed with only .08 percent of the trades experiencing problems due to the Year 2000 date change. Data input, communication and other errors were credited for the failure of other trades.

"We are very pleased with the results of the test," said John Munro, chairman of the FIA Year 2000 Committee and senior vice president product design for Rolfe & Nolan. "The high rate of success is indicative of the tremendous volume of work that has been done by the firms, exchanges and vendors in the U.S. to prepare their systems for the Year 2000 date change."

"We appreciate the high level of support the Y2K project leaders at the firms and exchanges have given this effort," said FIA President John M. Damgard. "The results go a long way in assuring the public that the futures industry is taking the appropriate steps to ensure business continuity post-Year 2000."

The industry-wide effort was designed to test interfaces between exchanges and firms to ensure that applications and operating system software are Year 2000 compliant. The test was conducted over four weekends: March 27, April 10 and 17, and May 8 of this year. Dates tested include 12/31/99, 1/3/00, 1/4/00 and 2/29/00. Scripts were developed for all U.S. exchanges to reflect the variety of trade practices at each exchange. All clearing member firms were required to participate by the exchanges.

Less than half of the firms that participated in the test are FIA members and participants were not required to report results to the FIA.

Testing was organized in three stages. Unit testing between firms and exchanges on

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