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Derivatives Compass

Timeline

Milestones in the history of derivatives and in their regulation, in chronological order. Filter by category and by country or region.

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Showing 35 events

  1. The Edo shogunate authorizes the Dojima Rice Market in Osaka

    HistoryJapanDraft

    In 1730 (Kyoho 15), the Edo shogunate officially approved the rice trading that had been taking place in Dojima, Osaka. There were two markets: a spot market that traded rice tickets (shomai akinai), and a futures market that traded representative grades of rice on the books (choaimai akinai).

    Japan Exchange Group describes the Dojima Rice Market as the origin of Japan's exchanges and as widely known as a forerunner of organized futures exchanges. The timeline says "Dojima Rice Market," but the article covers the same market under its Edo-period name, the "Dojima Rice Exchange." The futures market was choaimai akinai, which traded on the books.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  2. The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) is founded

    HistoryUSDraft

    In 1848, the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was founded in Chicago, in the United States. It was organized to trade forward ("time") contracts in grain.

    This organization later became Chicago's futures exchange. In the meantime, it developed rules for trading and for grain grades.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  3. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange opens a market for currency futures

    HistoryUSDraft

    In 1972, the International Monetary Market (IMM), created within the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), began trading futures on foreign currencies.

    This was the start of futures on currencies rather than on physical commodities such as grain. Futures later spread to interest rates and equity indexes.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  4. Black and Scholes publish an option pricing formula in a paper

    HistoryUSDraft

    Fischer Black and Myron Scholes presented a formula for the theoretical price of an option in their paper "The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities". The paper appeared in the May–June 1973 issue of the Journal of Political Economy.

    The formula is called the Black-Scholes model. By 1975, traders at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (opened in 1973) were using it on calculators. After that, the formula came to be used in trading.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  5. The Chicago Board Options Exchange opens

    HistoryUSDraft

    The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) opened on April 26, 1973, making it possible to trade stock options on an exchange. Until then, stock options had been over-the-counter trades in which the parties negotiated the terms.

    On the exchange, standardized options are traded. Cboe says it was the world's first market for trading options on an exchange.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  6. The World Bank and IBM enter into a currency swap

    HistoryInternationalDraft

    The World Bank entered into, with IBM, what it regards as the world's first formal currency swap. In a transaction arranged by Salomon Brothers, IBM exchanged the Swiss francs and Deutsche marks it had borrowed for the World Bank's US dollars.

    The World Bank faced limits on how much it could borrow in Switzerland and Germany, which made it hard to raise these lower-interest currencies directly. In 1987, the Bank of England wrote that this transaction brought recognition and popularity to the swap technique.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  7. ISDA is established

    HistoryInternationalDraft

    The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), an industry body made up of the main participants in the over-the-counter derivatives market, was established.

    A 1987 Bank of England article gives the organization's name as the International Swap Dealers Association, which appears to be its former name. According to the same article, in mid-1985 ISDA and the British Bankers' Association published standard dealing terms and documentation for interest rate swaps. ISDA is the organization that went on to advance the standardization of OTC derivative contracts through its production of the master agreement.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  8. JGB futures begin trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

    HistoryJapanDraft

    On October 19, 1985, the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened its government bond futures market, and trading in long-term JGB futures began.

    The table in Japan Exchange Group (JPX)'s "history of products" begins with this start of long-term JGB futures trading. Since the Tokyo Stock Exchange's derivatives market was integrated into the Osaka Exchange in 2014, JGB futures have been products listed on the Osaka Exchange.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  9. Equity index futures begin trading on the Osaka Securities Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange

    HistoryJapanDraft

    On September 3, 1988, trading began on the same day in Nikkei 225 futures, based on the Nikkei Stock Average, on the Osaka Securities Exchange, and in TOPIX futures, based on the Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX), on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. This was the start of trading in equity index futures.

    Nikkei 225 futures and TOPIX futures are now both listed on the Osaka Exchange.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  10. Cboe introduces the VIX index

    HistoryUSDraft

    In 1993, Cboe introduced the VIX index. According to Cboe's publication, the original VIX was designed to measure the market's expectation of volatility over the next 30 days, using the prices of S&P 100 index options with strike prices near the level of the index.

    According to Cboe's publication, in 2003 VIX was revised, together with Goldman Sachs, to its present method, which aggregates the prices of S&P 500 index options across a wide range of strike prices. Trading in futures on VIX began on March 24, 2004, and trading in options began in February 2006.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  11. Barings collapses after losses from rogue trading

    HistoryUKAsia-PacificJapanDraft

    On the night of February 26, 1995, the Bank of England announced that the British bank Barings could not continue trading and was applying for administration. A trader at its Singapore subsidiary had carried out trades that Barings had not authorized, and the resulting rogue trading losses arose from contracts on the Singapore, Osaka and Tokyo exchanges. After the collapse on February 26, the losses reached 827 million pounds.

    The UK government asked the Board of Banking Supervision to investigate, and the Board's report was published on July 18, 1995. In Parliament, the Chancellor of the Exchequer described its main findings: the losses came from concealed, unauthorized trading, and serious control failures and management confusion within the group meant that they were not noticed earlier. As one example of those failures, the report noted that the trader was in charge not only of trading but also of the department that processed the trade paperwork.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  12. 14 counterparties agree to recapitalize LTCM

    HistoryUSDraft

    Fourteen financial institutions that were counterparties of the US hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) agreed, after talks held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to invest about USD 3.6 billion in LTCM. In return they received 90% of LTCM's equity and operating control. On October 1, the president of the New York Fed told Congress that no public money was spent or committed.

    LTCM had suffered large losses after Russia declared a moratorium on its debt in 1998. The president of the New York Fed said he had judged that if many counterparties closed out their positions at the same time, some credit and interest rate markets could stop functioning. This is an example of a fund being recapitalized by the investment of private financial institutions.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  13. Japan issues its first inflation-indexed government bond

    HistoryJapanDraft

    On March 10, 2004 (Heisei 16), Japan issued its first inflation-indexed government bond. According to a Bank of Japan paper of April 2004, the first issue was 100 billion yen, and a further 600 billion yen was planned for issue within the same fiscal year. According to the Ministry of Finance, the bond has a maturity of 10 years and is linked to the nationwide consumer price index (all items excluding fresh food).

    An inflation-indexed government bond is a bond whose principal and coupons are linked to the price level. The same paper says that, as of 2004, such bonds had already been issued in many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and that the biggest difference was that the principal is guaranteed at redemption in the United States but not in Japan or the United Kingdom.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  14. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York meets market participants on credit derivatives confirmation backlogs

    HistoryUSInternationalDraft

    On September 15, 2005, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York hosted a meeting with representatives of major market participants and their domestic and international supervisors. They discussed issues in processing OTC derivatives, particularly credit derivatives, with a focus on the handling of trade assignments and confirmation backlogs.

    After the meeting, 14 major dealers committed to targets for reducing the backlogs (a separate event on October 5, 2005). The meeting is the occasion on which the confirmation backlogs in credit derivatives were taken up in a forum of supervisors.

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    Last reviewed: October 8, 2026

  15. Fourteen major credit derivatives dealers commit to reduce confirmation backlogs and expand electronic confirmation

    HistoryUSInternationalDraft

    On October 5, 2005, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued a statement welcoming commitments by 14 major dealers. The dealers' letter (dated October 4) listed, among other items, a 30% reduction by January 31, 2006 in trades unconfirmed for more than 30 days, measured from the number as of September 30, 2005, and full use of DTCC's capabilities by October 31, 2005.

    The commitments put deadlines and numerical targets on the credit derivatives confirmation backlog. They were made after the confirmation backlog had been taken up in a forum of supervisors, as an effort to expand the use of electronic confirmation after a trade is agreed, and the major dealers set deadlines and numbers.

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    Last reviewed: October 8, 2026

  16. Societe Generale announces a 4.9 billion euro loss from rogue trading

    HistoryEUDraft

    On January 24, 2008, the French bank Societe Generale announced that rogue trading by a single trader had been discovered. The final loss was 4.9 billion euros. The bank said that on January 18 an internal control alert prompted an investigation that uncovered fictitious trades, that on January 19 and 20 it identified positions of about 50 billion euros, and that it began unwinding those positions on January 21. The January 24 announcement also said that a capital increase to absorb the loss had been secured.

    In its report of February 20, 2008, the Special Committee of the bank's Board of Directors agreed with the interim conclusions of the bank's internal inspection department. The conclusions were that controls had, in general, been carried out in accordance with procedures, but that the fraud had not been detected before January 18. The stated reasons were that the methods the perpetrator used to conceal the fraud were skillful and varied, that staff did not routinely perform more detailed checks, and that some controls did not exist. The missing controls concerned items such as canceled or modified trades, trades with postponed start dates, and positions with large notional amounts.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  17. Lehman Brothers Holdings files for Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code

    HistoryUSDraft

    On September 15, 2008, the US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The Examiner's report calls it the largest bankruptcy proceeding ever filed.

    Lehman was a party to a large number of OTC derivatives. According to the New York Fed paper, the filing was an event of default under the contracts for almost all of Lehman's derivative trades, and more than 900,000 trades had to be terminated and settled. In September 2009, the G20 agreed on reform of the OTC derivatives market.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  18. The CDS Big Bang Protocol takes effect, and auction settlement is built into CDS contracts

    HistoryInternationalDraft

    On April 8, 2009, the "Big Bang Protocol" took effect. According to an IHS Markit publication, from that day auction settlement was built into CDS contract documentation, and Determinations Committees (DCs) were established to decide whether a credit event has occurred.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  19. The G20 Pittsburgh Summit leaders' statement agrees on reform of the OTC derivatives markets

    RegulationInternationalDraft

    The leaders' statement of the G20 Pittsburgh Summit, held on September 24 and 25, 2009, set out reform of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets. It called for all standardized OTC derivative contracts to be traded on exchanges or electronic trading platforms, where appropriate, and cleared through central counterparties by the end of 2012 at the latest. The date on this timeline is the last day of the summit.

    The same paragraph also calls for OTC derivative contracts to be reported to trade repositories, and for non-centrally cleared contracts to be subject to higher capital requirements. The content of the agreement and its implementation by country are covered in The G20 OTC Derivatives Reforms.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  20. Japan enacts the amended Financial Instruments and Exchange Act setting rules for OTC derivatives

    RegulationJapanDraft

    The Act for Partial Amendment of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (Act No. 32 of 2010) was passed unanimously by the plenary session of the House of Councillors on May 12, 2010, and was thereby enacted. According to the summary in the House of Councillors' bill information, the amendment, among other things, made the use of a clearing organization mandatory for certain OTC derivative transactions, required trade information to be kept and reported to the Prime Minister, and created a designation system for trade repositories.

    It was promulgated on May 19. The provisions on mandatory use of clearing organizations and on keeping and reporting trade information were to take effect on a date set by Cabinet Order within two and a half years of promulgation, and that date was November 1, 2012. This entry marks the enactment (and promulgation) of the Act; the Act taking effect is listed as a separate event. The background is covered in Japan's Derivatives Regulation at a Glance.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  21. The Dodd-Frank Act is enacted in the United States

    RegulationUSDraft

    On July 21, 2010, the US federal law known as the Dodd-Frank Act (the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111-203) was enacted. This date is the date of enactment. It is separate from the dates on which the Act's provisions take effect or on which rules begin to apply.

    The regulation of derivatives traded over the counter is set out in Title VII. The related article covers the contents and how the provisions took effect.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  22. UK FSA and US CFTC fine Barclays over LIBOR manipulation

    HistoryUKUSDraft

    The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) imposed a penalty of £59.5 million on Barclays Bank PLC over the manipulation of its LIBOR and EURIBOR submissions. On the same day, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ordered three Barclays companies to pay a civil monetary penalty of USD 200 million. Both actions settled the matters with Barclays.

    After the announcement, the UK government asked Martin Wheatley, Managing Director of the FSA, to review how LIBOR was set.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  23. The European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) is signed in the EU

    RegulationEUDraft

    The European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories, dated July 4, 2012. It is known as the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The date used on this timeline is the date of the regulation itself, the date of the signature at the end of the text. The regulation was published in the Official Journal on July 27, 2012, and was to enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) gives August 16, 2012 as the date it came into force.

    The regulation sets out obligations for the clearing, reporting and risk mitigation of OTC derivatives, and rules for central counterparties and trade repositories. The related article covers what the obligations require.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  24. Japan's mandatory clearing requirement takes effect

    RegulationJapanDraft

    The provisions on the mandatory clearing requirement included in the 2010 amendment of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act took effect on November 1, 2012. The Cabinet Office Ordinance on Regulation of Over-the-Counter Derivatives Transactions (the OTC Derivatives Ordinance) took effect on the same day. The ordinance was promulgated on July 11, 2012.

    The article Mandatory Clearing covers the scope of covered transactions and the parties subject to the obligation. The date on this timeline is the date it took effect; the enactment of the Act is a separate event (May 12, 2010).

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  25. Japan's keeping and reporting of OTC derivatives trade information takes effect

    RegulationJapanDraft

    The system for keeping and reporting trade information on OTC derivative transactions, created by the 2010 amendment of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, took effect on November 1, 2012. The Cabinet Office Ordinance on Regulation of Over-the-Counter Derivatives Transactions (the OTC Derivatives Ordinance), which sets out the details, took effect on the same day.

    The article Trade Reporting covers the current system and how information is provided to a trade repository. The date on this timeline is the date it took effect; the enactment of the Act is a separate event (May 12, 2010).

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  26. Tokyo Stock Exchange Group and the Osaka Securities Exchange integrate their businesses, and Japan Exchange Group is launched

    HistoryJapanDraft

    On January 1, 2013, Tokyo Stock Exchange Group and the Osaka Securities Exchange integrated their businesses, and Japan Exchange Group (JPX) was launched.

    After that, on March 24, 2014, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's market for exchange-traded derivatives was integrated into the Osaka Exchange, and on July 27, 2020, the markets for precious metals, rubber, and agricultural products moved from the Tokyo Commodity Exchange to the Osaka Exchange.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  27. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's derivatives market is integrated into the Osaka Exchange

    HistoryJapanDraft

    On March 24, 2014, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's derivatives market was integrated into the Osaka Exchange. On the same day, the Osaka Securities Exchange changed its corporate name to the Osaka Exchange.

    At the Tokyo Stock Exchange, trading in JGB futures had begun in 1985 and in TOPIX futures (a type of stock index futures) in 1988. These are now products listed on the Osaka Exchange, alongside Nikkei 225 futures.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  28. Implementation of margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives begins in the international framework and in Japan

    RegulationInternationalJapanDraft

    In the framework they revised on March 18, 2015, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) set September 1, 2016 as the start of implementation of the margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives. The exchange of initial margin and variation margin is applied in phases.

    In Japan, the Financial Services Agency promulgated the related Cabinet Office ordinances and supervisory guidelines on March 31 and July 25, 2016, and they took effect on September 1, 2016. The FSA Commissioner's notice also applied from September 1, 2016. The date of this event is the start date of implementation in the international framework and the date the Japanese rules took effect. The related articles cover the contents of the rules, the phases and the postponement.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  29. Power futures begin trial listing on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange

    HistoryJapanDraft

    On September 17, 2019, monthly power futures based on prices in the JEPX spot market began trading on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange as a trial listing. The exchange's product specifications give this date as the start date (trial listing).

    On April 4, 2022, the Tokyo Commodity Exchange moved power futures (monthly contracts for the East and West areas) to full listing.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  30. NYMEX WTI crude oil futures trade at a negative price for the first time

    HistoryUSDraft

    The front-month (nearest-expiry) futures on WTI crude oil, traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), were priced below zero for the first time since trading began in 1983. At about 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, they traded as low as −USD 40.32 per barrel, and prices also fell below zero during part of the following trading day.

    The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) cites two factors: traders who had bought futures could not find anyone to sell to, and scarce, costly storage led holders who wanted to exit before taking physical delivery to pay a counterparty to take their futures. Brent crude oil futures and WTI futures for later contract months were priced above zero at the time.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  31. Futures and options on precious metals, rubber, and agricultural products move from the Tokyo Commodity Exchange to the Osaka Exchange

    HistoryJapanDraft

    On July 27, 2020, futures and options on precious metals, rubber, and agricultural products that had been listed on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange moved to the Osaka Exchange. On the same day, Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC) merged with Japan Commodity Clearing House, completing the integration of the clearing organizations.

    On that day, Japan Exchange Group (JPX) said that it had started up in earnest as a comprehensive exchange. The precious metals, rubber, and agricultural commodity derivatives that moved were now traded on the Osaka Exchange, alongside futures on financial products, and cleared by JSCC. Energy futures did not move. In JPX's product list (updated April 13, 2026), energy is classified as a Tokyo Commodity Exchange product.

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  32. The UK FCA and the administrator announce when LIBOR will end

    HistoryUKInternationalDraft

    The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and ICE Benchmark Administration, the administrator of LIBOR, announced when the publication of LIBOR by panel banks would end. All tenors of yen, sterling, euro and Swiss franc LIBOR and some US dollar tenors would end at the end of December 2021, and the remaining US dollar tenors at the end of June 2023.

    This set the deadline by which existing contracts were to move to successor rates.

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    Last reviewed: September 25, 2026

  33. Archegos Capital Management defaults

    HistoryUSDraft

    On March 26, 2021, the investment firm Archegos Capital Management defaulted. A notice issued in December 2021 by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board describes Archegos as a firm heavily concentrated in a small number of US and Chinese technology and media companies, and says the default caused losses of over USD 10 billion across several large banks. Most of those banks were outside the US.

    The Financial Stability Board's report of July 2025 describes the Archegos default as involving significant leverage through total return swaps (TRS).

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    Last reviewed: October 3, 2026

  34. LIBOR ends with the last publication of synthetic US dollar LIBOR

    HistoryUKInternationalDraft

    The 1-month, 3-month and 6-month synthetic US dollar LIBOR settings were published for the last time, and all 35 LIBOR settings across 5 currencies and 7 tenors came to an end. Synthetic LIBOR was published temporarily at the direction of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for existing (legacy) contracts.

    This marked a turning point in the transition away from LIBOR.

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    Last reviewed: September 25, 2026

  35. Funds managed by KKR complete the acquisition of OSTTRA, which runs post-trade processing services

    HistoryInternationalDraft

    According to a press release by OSTTRA dated October 10, 2025, investment funds managed by KKR completed the acquisition of OSTTRA from S&P Global and CME Group. OSTTRA was established in 2021 as a joint venture between CME Group and S&P Global, combining four businesses: MarkitServ, Traiana, TriOptima, and Reset.

    This is an event in which the ownership of OSTTRA, which operates an electronic confirmation service for trades after execution, changed. The article covers how the operator has changed over time.

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    Last reviewed: October 8, 2026