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Globally, 2022 was a very tumultuous year from the geopolitical and economic perspective. After several years of stresses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant real-economy pressures, rising inflation, price volatility, and obstructed access to many commodities, the prospects at the start of 2022 seemed to be improving together with the easing of lockdowns in many countries, reopening of economies, and people’s regained freedom to move and travel again. These hopes were shattered with the beginning of a new, much more acute phase of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022 which marked the onset of yet another crisis – primarily humanitarian, but also for financial markets. A combination of unfavourable factors led to a galloping inflation addressed by major central banks with the tightening of monetary policies, bond markets’ unprecedented volatility and a rapid growth in the yields of many government bonds. Commodities markets were also negatively affected by the geopolitical events and crypto winter exposed the crypto market’s participants to significant losses, bankruptcies, and even fraud cases.
In spite of this, a significant part of financial markets fared well. CCPs and their participants fulfilled their roles and obligations even at the most challenging moments. CCPs, some of the most transparent and highly regulated entities in the markets, succeeded in managing risk and enhancing their models and offerings. CCPs remained very resilient, innovative, responsive to market participants’ needs, and continued to be perceived as safe havens by market participants, as evidenced by stable or even increasing levels of overcollateralization observed at all major CCPs.
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