Interest rate derivatives volume traded in April 2018 recorded a sharp decline when compared to volumes in March 2018. An overall 28.9% decline in volumes traded was due to a fall in volumes across all three regions - Americas (-28.5%), Asia-Pacific (-40.6%) and EMEA region (-27.1%).

Dear Colleagues

Welcome to the May issue of Focus, which has a real CCP flavour this month.

We continue to look back at the key themes to emerge from our recent IOMA: WFE’s Clearing & Derivatives Conference, with a number of interviews and contributions from participants at the event.

We kick off with a Q&A interview with Craig Phillips, Counselor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury who joined me and Craig Donohue, OCC's Executive Chairman & CEO, and hosts of this year’s IOMA, in a Fireside Chat. In this issue, he addresses some of the critical questions around Treasury’s key ref...

Dubi Vigdorovich, Cyber, CISO & Data Security Unit Manager, Information Technology and Operations Department, Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), provides tips on mitigating cybersecurity vulnerabilities at exchanges.

Kesara Manchusree, President of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) writes in May's edition of Focus about the launch of 'LiVE', a new blockchain-based platform that aims to boost startups in Thailand.

The WFE has responded to IOSCO's Consultation Report on 'Mechanisms used by trading venues to manage extreme volatility and preserve orderly trading'.

The WFE has published its fourth annual Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) survey of member exchanges, which shows nearly 90% are embracing sustainability initiatives.

At the WFE IOMA Clearing & Derivatives Conference, Paul Wong, Member of Secretariat, Committee on Payments & Market Infrastructures, BIS took part in a panel on how CCPs and banks connect. Here he looks at the importance of CCP transparency.

Alicia Greenwood, Director, Post Trade Services, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), and newly elected Vice-Chair of the WFE's CCP Working Group, gives her regional perspective on the importance of CCPs.

Sean Downey, Executive Director, Global Clearing & Risk Policy, CME Group, and newly elected Chair of the WFE's CCP Working Group looks at how regulatory reform can lead to unintended consequences for CCPs.