On Dec. 4, President Obama signed into law a transportation bill that includes a provision removing a barrier to the sharing of data on swap trading. The provision stripped away a requirement in Dodd-Frank that U.S.-based swap data repositories obtain a written indemnification agreement from overseas regulators seeking to access their data. This indemnification provision was intended to protect the confidentiality of the data, but proponents have warned that it effectively restricted foreign regulatory access to data.
The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, which operates several swap data repositories, welcomed the amendment, which included in a bill called Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (H.R. 22). "Eliminating these barriers to data sharing marks an important step in ensuring regulators globally obtain a consolidated and accurate view of the over-the-counter derivatives marketplace," DTCC said in a statement.
