Wholesale Markets Brokers' Association Americas Inc.

The Wholesale Markets Brokers' Association Americas Inc. was formed by a group of North America's leading inter-dealer brokers to promote the standards of the industry and a better understanding of the role played by wholesale brokers in the functioning of financial markets. 
The five founding members of WMBA Americas are BGC Partners, GFI Group, ICAP, Tradition, and Tullett Prebon. They founded the association on July 13, 2009.
The association seeks to work with Congress and key public policymakers on future regulation and oversight of over-the-counter (OTC) markets and their participants. 
In September of 2015, ICAP confirmed that it was pulling out of the WMBAA, saying that since the U.S. had created and implemented Dodd-Frank the bulk of global regulatory reform efforts had moved to Europe and beyond, and therefore ICAP's efforts were best directed outside of WMBAA membership.
== History ==
The WMBAA was formed in July 2009 in order to "promote the quality and standards of the industry and a better understanding of the critical role played by wholesale brokers in the efficient functioning of financial markets."
WMBAA participates in regulatory hearings and roundtables, especially those concerning swap execution facilities (SEFs), a new type of entity created by the Dodd-Frank Act. The association hosts an annual conference in New York on swap execution facilities, "SEFCON."
On October 12, 2011, WMBAA Chairman Chris Giancarlo testified before the House Committee on Agriculture on the subject of proposed changes to the Dodd-Frank Act regarding swap execution facilities. His testimony was summarized into a commentary featured on MarketsReformWiki.
== Preview of SEFCON IV, November 2013 ==
SEFCON IV Snapshot
Since 2010, the WMBAA has hosted its annual SEFCON conference in New York on issues surrounding swap execution facilities (SEFs), a new type of financial transaction execution entity created by the Dodd-Frank Act. SEFCON IV, to be held November 18, 2013, will feature a status update on SEFs from regulators, legislators, dealers, traders and other market participants. Conference Chairman Chris Ferreri offers a glimpse as to what attendees can expect in this video with former John Lothian News Editor-at-Large Doug Ashburn.
== SEFCON III, November 13, 2012 ==
On November 12, 2012, the WMBAA hosted its third annual swap execution facilities conference, "SEFCON III" at the Grand Hyatt, New York. The keynote speaker was CFTC commissioner Bart Chilton, who spoke about SEF rules, high frequency trading and position limits. Also on the agenda were panels on liquidity in the new market structure, a European report from WMBA Europe chairman Alex McDonald, and panels on SEF registration and technology challenges. 
2012 SEFCON III Videos
The Wholesale Markets Brokers’ Association Americas (WMBAA) is an industry advocacy group made up of five inter-dealer brokerage firms (IDBs): BGC Partners, GFI Group, ICAP, Tradition and Tullett Prebon. Since 2010, the WMBAA has hosted an annual conference on issues surrounding swap execution facilities (SEFs), a new type of financial transaction execution entity created by the Dodd-Frank Act. On November 13, 2012, John Lothian News Editor-at-Large Doug Ashburn attended the third such conference, 2012 SEFCON III.
During 2012 SEFCON III John Lothian News interviewed five key members of the WMBAA. Click here to watch all the interviews or choose one from below:
*2012 SEFCON III Interview Highlights
*European Swaps Perspective from Alex McDonald of the WMBA
*An Intro to IDBs and SEF Regulation from ICAP’s Chris Ferreri 
*OTC Brokers vs. Exchanges and the Futurization of Swaps from Julian Harding of Tradition
*Evolution of OTC Products and Regulations Across Jurisdictions from Shawn Bernardo of Tullett Prebon
*Chris Giancarlo of GFI Group Discusses the Need for Regulatory Balance
Watch all >
== SEFCON II, October 3, 2011 ==
On October 3, 2011, the WMBAA hosted its second annual swap execution facilities conference, "SEFCON II" at the Grand Hyatt, New York. The keynote speaker was CFTC chairman Gary Gensler, who spoke about Dodd-Frank, the need for transparency, and the "made available to trade" mandate. Other notable speakers at SEFCON II were MarketAxess CEO Richard McVey, former CFTC Chairman Walt Lukken, Congressman Michael Conaway, and CFTC Commissioner Scott O'Malia. 
== Key People ==
*Julian Harding, chairman; executive director, Tradition
*Stephen Merkel, vice-chairman; executive vice president and general counsel, BGC Partners, Inc.
*Chris Ferreri, former chairman and founding WMBAA member; managing director of hybrid systems, ICAP
*Shawn Bernardo, founding WMBAA member; senior managing director of e-broking, Tullett Prebon
*J. Christopher Giancarlo, founding WMBAA member and VP, corporate development, GFI Group (became CFTC commissioner in 2014)
== References ==
Category:MarketsWiki Page of the Day