The Bank of England chairs the London Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee (FXJSC) Legal Sub-Committee. The FXJSC is made up of market participants, infrastructure providers and the UK financial regulators.
15 November 2022
Time: 3pm – 4.30pm | Location: Video meeting
Sharon Blackman welcomed new members Mayank Patel from Bank of America and Rowland Stacey from Goldman Sachs. They replace Jateen Shah and Dan Parker, who have stepped down from the Committee. The minutes of the meeting of 6 September 2022 were approved. Caroline Dawson of Clifford Chance LLP gave an overview of the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks, and updated members on legislative developments regarding benchmark regulation in the EU and UK. Brian Morris of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP gave an overview and assessment of a recent US court case concerning Neil Phillips, co-founder of Glen Point Capital. Phillips has been charged with conspiracy to commit commodities and wire fraud, wire fraud, and commodities fraud. Sharon Blackman explained the background to FXJSC’s sponsorship of EMTA documentation and questioned whether sponsoring the documentation remained appropriate in light of the FXJSC’s remit. The Legal Sub-Committee has been asked to provide a recommendation to the FXJSC on this issue. From reviewing the EMTA Terms of Reference, sponsorship seemed outside the remit of the FXJSC main committee. Sharon is awaiting feedback from the Committee members on this point. George Johnston informed the Committee members that Andrew Hauser, chair of the FXJSC main Committee, was keen to hear the Committee’s view. The Committee members discussed their observations on the legal issues arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Committee noted that while this was still an issue, there was not as much activity as before. Sharon Blackman outlined proposed changes to the Committee’s Terms of Reference (the ‘ToRs’), which have been drafted with a view to the Committee having regard to the diversity of the Committee members and institutions, and to align with both the FXJSC Main Committee and Operations Sub-Committee ToRs. The amendment will be recirculated, and Committee members are to review it and provide comments. Sharon Blackman suggested potential topics for discussion for upcoming committee meetings (such as an overview of the collapse of FTX, or US regulators’ investigations of traders’ use of personal devices and apps to conduct business). She asked members to contact her with any other suggestions. Sharon Blackman (Chair) – Citigroup George Johnston (Secretary) - Bank of England Rakesh Shah - Standard Chartered Sunil Samani - XTX Markets Rowland Stacey - Goldman Sachs Mayank Patel – Bank of America David Harris – Financial Conduct Authority Simon Goldsworthy – Deutsche Bank Harkamal Singh Atwal – HSBC Baljit Saini – Natwest Jutta Huesmann – Bank of England Ayodele Cameron – Bank of England Caroline Dawson – Clifford Chance LLP Brian Morris – Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Gaynor Wood – CLS Tamsin Rolls – JP Morgan Chase Nimisha Kanabar – Morgan Stanley Simon Helm – Tullet Prebon Richard Lamb – UBS Diane Bouwmeester – London Stock Exchange GroupMinutes
Minute 1 – Introduction and Minutes
Minute 2 – Discussion of Benchmark Regulations in the context of FX
Minute 3 – Discussion of US Court Case relating to alleged FX manipulation
Minute 4 – Discussion of FXJSC continued sponsorship of certain EMTA documentation relating to FX transactions
Minute 5 – Discussion on the impacts of the Russian/Ukraine conflict
Minute 6 – Discussion on tabled updates to the Sub-committee’s Terms of Reference
Minute 7 – Any other business
Attendees
FXJSC Legal Sub-Committee Secretariat
Guest attendees
Apologies