A person that falls into one of three groups is a major swap participant1. The first group maintains a substantial position, excluding hedging and similar positions, in any of the major swap categories (rate, credit, equity and other commodity swaps). The second group has outstanding swaps that create substantial counterparty exposure that could have serious adverse effects on the financial stability of the US banking system or financial markets. The third group is a financial entity that is highly leveraged relative to its capital, is not subject to capital requirements set by a federal banking agency, and maintains a substantial position.

For rate swaps, a substantial position is a daily average over a quarter of USD 3 billion in uncollateralized outward exposure, or USD 6 billion when potential outward exposure is added. The other three categories use USD 1 billion and USD 2 billion (as of October 2026).

A swap dealer is by definition not a major swap participant. A major swap participant is identified by the size of its positions, not by dealing activity as with a swap dealer.

Notes

  1. 17 CFR § 1.3 (eCFR), the definition of "Major swap participant." ↩