The European Commission has made clear to EU companies that they should reduce their dependence on UK central clearing counterparties, according to Natasha Cazenave, executive director of the European Securities and Markets Authority. In the coming months ESMA will make a recommendation to the commission on UK-EU central counterparty equivalence, she said.

A panel of experts at the FIA 2021 International Derivatives Expo in London suggested that greater regulatory oversight certainty will help boost fintech firms and institutional adoption of digital assets. "For us as recognised exchanges, we provide certainty to customers. The balance between the upside and downside is manageable when it comes to indirect exposure, but it has to be managed. It's a question of risk appetite," Euronext chief executive Stephane Boujnah said.

Panelists at the FIA 2021 International Derivatives Expo in London discussed the need to improve futures trade processing, noting that pragmatism should guide the effort to simplify the futures trade lifecycle and prevent operational bottlenecks. "I think this is a unique opportunity for us to actually make a change because if we don't do it with all the issues that were there last year, the regulators might force our hands to do it," said JP Morgan head of global clearing operations for EMEA Meher Sutaria.

London Metal Exchange chief sustainability officer Georgina Hallett and ING Bank global lead for sustainability and commodity derivatives Philippe Heidendal told a panel at the FIA 2021 International Derivatives Expo in London that certainty around standards is needed to safeguard sustainability markets. "We need a good foundation for the [Key Performance Indicators] structure that underpins sustainability linked derivatives, that is a crucial item in any derivative we provide," said Heidendal.

The heads of CME Group and Euronext told a panel at the FIA 2021 International Derivatives Expo in London that unprecedented levels of uncertainty have been created by disruptions from political ruptures in the US and Europe as well as the COVID-19 pandemic recovery. "This is an environment where political landscapes are shifting rapidly and it's unclear what the outcome is going to be. That means our customers are facing increasing uncertainty and, frankly, for everyone in the room, that's what we are here to do," said CME Group senior managing director, global head of commodities and options products Derek Sammann.

US digital asset exchange Kraken will pay $1.25 million to settle US Commodity Futures Trading Commission charges that it failed to register as a futures commission merchant and illegally offered retail commodity transactions in digital assets to ineligible US customers. The CFTC says the transactions took place between June 2020 to July 2021.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating independent oil trader Gunvor Group for possible involvement in a scheme to bribe officials of Ecuador's state-run Petroecuador. The US Department of Justice and Swiss prosecutors are also investigating Gunvor's Ecuador dealings.

Interactive Brokers has agreed to pay the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission $1.75 million for the electronic trading system failures that occurred when crude oil futures turned negative last year. CFTC Acting Director of Enforcement Vincent McGonagle said the enforcement action "demonstrates that the CFTC will hold registrants responsible for their handling of customer accounts."

The US Federal Reserve has reportedly asked several US banks about their possible exposure to the ailing China Evergrande Group. Other central banks and regulators around the world are asking similar questions, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell has played down any need for serious concern, stating that "there's not a direct United States exposure."

Bank merger and acquisition activity is on track to reach its highest yearly level since the 2008 financial crisis, during which many lenders were forced into deals to stay operational. More than $54 billion worth of bank M&A deals have been announced so far this year, according to Dealogic, up from $17 billion last year.