Dear Member,
FIA is proud to be your voice and tireless advocate during these challenging times. This has been an extraordinary year like no other we have seen. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an unprecedented health and economic crisis to our global community. Yet these uncertain times require us to rise to the occasion and meet these problems head-on with creative solutions and innovative ideas. FIA is energized to be your partner through these difficult days ahead.
I have been amazed by the performance of the listed and cleared derivatives markets during the volatility caused by the pandemic. Despite record volumes, commercial end users, hedgers and market makers were able to access markets globally to manage risk and discover prices. The clearing system brought enhanced transparency and confidence to the marketplace, bringing needed resilience during these unsettled times. It shows why the exchange-traded and cleared derivatives markets were the model for reform after the 2008 financial crisis.
That said, our markets performed well because our community—regulators, market participants and exchanges—all came together to keep markets open for business. FIA worked with regulators and local officials to make sure that work-from-home policies didn’t hamper the marketplace. FIA helped its members to gain temporary relief in the US, Europe, and Asia so that important services to customers could continue unimpeded. Most importantly, FIA forcefully voiced its support for keeping markets open, and we strongly opposed measures, such as short selling bans, that would be counter-productive to market liquidity and integrity.
At the same time, our teams in Brussels, London, Singapore, and Washington continued their day-to-day advocacy—working on major legislative and regulatory reforms such as position limits, cross border regulations, MIFID II and Brexit. We also continued our collaboration with exchanges and clearinghouses to improve risk management standards and industry-wide operational efficiency.
FIA is proud to be your partner in finding solutions and advocating for positive change for our industry. As such, we are pleased to offer members an update on our advocacy efforts for the first half of 2020.
Walt Lukken
President & CEO
