NEW YORK, NY — (Marketwire) — 10/10/12 — Parity Energy, Inc. announced today that it is ready to provide its customers with access to full trade execution services for cleared energy derivatives throughout the so-called “swaps to futures” transition scheduled to take effect on Monday, October 15. New York-based Parity Energy runs as an exempt commercial market to execute swaps transactions, and operates Parity Futures, Inc., an independent introducing broker registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) that handles institutional clients in the regulated futures markets.
Starting on Monday, October 15, energy over-the-counter (OTC) cleared swap and option products including US natural gas and electric power, crude oil and refined products, will be made available for trading as futures by their respective exchanges. For these new futures products, will continue to be able to negotiate transactions OTC-style, or off-exchange, subject to minimum size and reporting time requirements. ECPs will be able to choose from a variety of designated contract market execution mechanisms, such as blocking, crossing and exchange of futures for swaps. Because of the regulated nature of the futures products, any brokerage firm wishing to intermediate transactions must be registered with the NFA as a futures commission merchant or, like Parity Futures, be registered as an introducing broker.
“Market participants can be confident on October 15 that they can conduct both their swaps and futures business at Parity,” says Brad Flaster, VP of Operations at Parity Energy. Flaster notes that Parity–s regulated subsidiary, Parity Futures, has been registered with the NFA as an independent introducing broker since 2007 and that all Parity employees soliciting business in futures products are currently registered as associated persons of the regulated entity. “We have refined our operational processes to comply with the upcoming transition in a very short time-frame thanks to our expertise in both the swaps and futures markets and our highly automated back-office systems.”
The regulatory landscape continues to evolve rapidly, requiring market participants to anticipate changes and prepare ahead of time. “The swaps to futures transition stems from the current lack of clarity regarding the handling of swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act,” says Flaster. “Eventually, the rules for both swap execution facilities and DCM Core Principle 9 will be finalized, potentially triggering another transition back to swaps. To ensure continuity for our customers, Parity intends to operate its exempt commercial market, as it has since 2007, as long as it continues to be a legally and commercially viable trading venue for energy swaps.”
: OTC Markets Modernized — Parity Energy (Parity) matches institutional buyers and sellers of energy and precious metals options. Unique in its category, Parity delivers the combined benefits of electronic trading and high-quality voice service through the Parity Energy Platform (PEP). PEP is Parity–s award-winning electronic trader-to-trader marketplace for off-exchange cleared options. PEP combines an electronic order book, request for quote capability, system connectivity and full support from Parity and third-party voice brokers. Parity operates as an exempt commercial market and expects to transition to a swap execution facility. Parity Futures is a NFA-registered independent introducing broker.
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Julia Simmons
646-867-1944