ISDA

Join us at the ISDA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Amsterdam on May 13-15 to celebrate ISDA’s 40th anniversary. With sessions on geopolitical risk, Basel III, liquidity risk, Treasury clearing and much more, this year’s AGM will be packed to the brim with market intelligence and analysis from senior market and regulatory speakers. Don’t miss out – book your ticket today at agm.isda.org.

The final panel at the ISDA Athens Derivatives Forum looked at the fundamental building blocks of derivatives, including who uses them and why and key aspects of core ISDA documentation, with Dr Peter M. Werner at ISDA, Angelos Georgoulis at Metlen Energy & Metals, Alexandra Kondyli at Karatzas & Partners, Deepak Sitlani at Linklaters and Mariela Tiliakou at the National Bank of Greece. “Corporates use derivatives to hedge themselves against unfavorable price moves that may endanger their business plans and profitability,” said Angelos Georgoulis, financial risk management senior director at Metlen Energy & Metals, who added that his company has been using the ISDA Master Agreement to trade over-the-counter derivatives for over 15 years. “The predictability that results from fixed prices results in better decision-making,” he added. Thanks to the Hellenic Capital Market Commission for supporting the event and the Hellenic Bank Association for sponsoring. Read ISDA’s Value of OTC Derivatives report here: https://lnkd.in/gNCAfXCS

Governments and companies around the world are implementing policies to reduce climate emissions, with the ultimate aim of reaching net zero. The first afternoon panel at the Athens Derivatives Forum looked at how the transition is progressing in Greece and the role that ESG-related financial instruments and derivatives can play, with Chryssanthi Berbati at Piraeus, Theodora Antonakaki at Bank of Greece, Andreas Daskalakis at ATHEX Group, Deepak Sitlani at Linklaters and Anastasia Stamou at the Hellenic Capital Market Commission.

ISDA is delighted to welcome Gikas Hardouvelis, chairman of the board of directors at the National Bank of Greece and chairman of the Hellenic Bank Association, who gave keynote remarks at the ISDA Athens Derivatives Forum today. In his remarks, Mr. Hardouvelis discussed the environment for banks in Greece, including the outlook for lending, net interest income and non-performing loans, as well as the impact of regulatory change. “The Basel capital rules will hit the larger banks more than the Greek banks. Greek banks follow the standardized approach and it will hit their capital requirements by 30-60 basis points, whereas some larger international banks will be hit by 10 times as much,” he said. Thanks to the Hellenic Bank Association for sponsoring the Athens Derivatives Forum – we really appreciate your support.

Many thanks to George Handjinicolaou, chairman of the board of directors of Piraeus Bank and the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) and a former deputy CEO of ISDA, who took part in a fireside chat with ISDA CEO Scott O'Malia at the ISDA Athens Derivatives Forum today. “There are a number of companies in Greece that are using derivatives to manage FX exposures, interest rate exposures and commodity exposures. But some companies are left with the idea that using derivatives is complicated because they are customized. The reality is, in the post-crisis environment when much of the business is standardized, they are much more accessible. There is room for the market to grow and I think that would be to the benefit of Greek users and the Greek economy, because derivatives help to reduce uncertainty,” he said. Read ISDA’s Value of OTC Derivatives report here: https://lnkd.in/gNCAfXCS

A nascent market for energy trading is emerging in Greece, enabling market participants to hedge their price risk and mitigate the impact of volatility. What instruments are available, and what’s needed for this market to develop further? The second panel at the ISDA Athens Derivatives Forum looked at how and why Greek companies are using power purchase agreements, renewable energy certificates and other instruments, with Michael Mitsopoulos at SEV, Qian Hu at Jones Day, Manolis Kalaitzakis at enexgroup, Spyros Kokkolis at Viohalco and Omiros Vlachos at PPC S.A..

Derivatives play a key role in driving risk mitigation, investment, cost-effective financing and market liquidity, contributing to greater competitiveness and economic growth. The first panel at the ISDA Athens Derivatives Forum explored the development of derivatives markets in Greece, described how they can be used to bolster competitiveness and considered the hurdles that need to be addressed, with Dimitris Psichogios at Eurobank, Panos Genakos at Piraeus Bank, Vassilis Gioulbaxiotis at Eurobank, Nicos Porfyris at ATHEX and Dimitrios Toumpanis at Alpha Bank Speaking on the panel, Vassilis Gioulbaxiotis, deputy general manager at Eurobank, highlighted the benefits that derivatives can bring to different types of Greek companies. “The Greek economy is benefiting through different derivatives offerings and their use by market participants, What we see is derivatives users are safeguarding market returns, mitigating risk and reducing the impact of a fluctuation in prices. This creates value for the various users – for companies and the Greek state. This encourages further investment, hiring and growth,” he said. Panelists described how banks are the largest users of derivatives in Greece. While large multinational corporates in the country are using derivatives, some smaller companies have yet to adopt derivatives in any meaningful way. “One of the big challenges in the Greek financial system is that it takes two to tango. We are providing the tools for Greek corporates to be in a position to mitigate risk. It comes down to us and to ISDA to educate corporates to facilitate the understanding of the documentation and to promote and educate on what this market is all about,” said Mr. Gioulbaxiotis. “Derivatives create opportunities, and that’s a good thing, but education is needed. All agencies need to see derivatives as a way to increase opportunities,” added Dimitris Psichogios, assistant general manager at Eurobank. Read ISDA’s Value of OTC Derivatives report here: https://lnkd.in/gNCAfXCS

A big thank you to Ioannis Tsakiris, vice president at the European Investment Bank (EIB), for giving keynote remarks at ISDA's Athens Derivatives Forum today. In his remarks, Mr. Tsakiris said the EU should focus on three priorities to create an integrated capital market – breaking down fragmentation, cutting red tape and raising joint funding. “Europe is at a turning point and the decisions we make today will have an impact over the next five years,” he said. Mr. Tsakiris also highlighted the important role of derivatives in facilitating deep, liquid and competitive capital markets. “Derivatives play a critical role in making capital markets more efficient, liquid and more accessible. They help companies manage risk, facilitate price discovery and allow companies to manage capital allocation,” he said. “Liquidity is the foundation of an efficient capital market.” Read ISDA’s Value of OTC Derivatives report here: https://lnkd.in/gNCAfXCS

ISDA has published analysis on interest rate #derivatives (IRD) trading activity reported in the EU, UK and US in the full year 2024 and the fourth quarter of 2024. Key highlights in the full year 2024 include: - European IRD traded notional reported by approved publication arrangements and trading venues in the EU and UK rose by 24.9% to $248.0 trillion in 2024 from $198.5 trillion in 2023. - Euro-denominated IRD traded notional grew by 15.1% to $138.2 trillion from $120.1 trillion and comprised 55.7% of total European IRD traded notional. - Sterling-denominated IRD traded notional climbed by 43.0% to $38.3 trillion from $26.8 trillion and represented 15.4% of the European total. Click here to read the report: https://lnkd.in/eMpBeiCW

ISDA was delighted to welcome Vassiliki Lazarakou, chair of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC), to the Athens Derivatives Forum today. In her keynote remarks, Ms. Lazarakou highlighted efforts across the EU to enhance competitiveness and reduce the regulatory burden on European institutions, particularly in the area of environmental, social and governance reporting requirements. “ESMA and all regulators, including the HCMC, will play a part and focus on cost, a lower administrative burden and simplification. We all agree that simplification is necessary and this is something we will all work on,” she said, Ms. Lazarakou also pointed to ISDA’s new Value of OTC Derivatives report, which describes how and why firms use derivatives. “It is very important to understand how firms can use different types of derivatives and how derivatives can drive cost reduction and investment,” she said. Read the Value of OTC Derivatives report here: https://lnkd.in/gNCAfXCS