Featured Article: An article this morning reports that the Financial Stability Board ('FSB) plans to issue proposals on rules encouraging banks to put derivatives trades through a central clearing house as part of a regulations aimed at reducing risk in what is described in the article as the $700 trillion derivatives industry. The article goes on to say:

"a disorderly unraveling of derivatives trades contributed to the global credit crunch in 2008 and 2009";
"financial market risks had increased, a reference to the impact of the euro zone debt crisis'; and,
According to Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada and current Chair of the FSB, "Momentum on OTC derivatives has accelerated in recent months".

Note: The FSB, comprised largely of (over 20) Central Banks, coordinates the work of national financial authorities and international standard setting groups, and develops and promotes the implementation of regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies. Centered in Basel, Switzerland, currently it is chaired by Mark Carney, current Governor of the Bank of Canada.

Commentary: How this develops is something to watch for. This is because:

the world derivatives markets currently are estimated by some to be far larger than U.S.$700 trillion - although 'even' U.S.$700 trillion is almost 10 times the size of the entire estimated 2011 World Gross Domestic Product (estimated at just under U.S.$75 trillion);
the 'push-back' by the bank's on this move toward regulation will be important to observe. Simply put, the greater the push-back by the banks, the more concern their ought to be on the part of world investors, traders, and everyone else in the world population. Unregulated groups are always 'anti-regulation' for a reason, and who knows what a regulatory environment would uncover in the context of world derivatives trading; and,
derivatives can hardly be termed an 'industry'. It is simply but one leg in the multi-legged banking and financial services industry.

Ian R. Campbell, FCA, FCBV, is a recognized Canadian business valuation authority who shares his perspective about the economy, mining and the oil & gas industry on each trading day. Ian is also the founder of Stock Research Portal, which provides stock market data, analysis and research on over 1,600 Mining and Oil & Gas Companies listed on the Toronto and Venture Exchanges. Ian can be contacted at icampbell@srddi.com

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

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