focal points included the increased use of central counterparties ( ccps ). the g20 advocated that, going forward, otc derivatives be subject to a clearing obligation, at least in those cases where they are sufficiently standardised. the ccp, as a neutral party, would then assume the risk management, in particular, of what were previously bilaterally concluded derivatives contracts. this was a crucial paradigm shift. as a result, adjustments were made to the regulatory frameworks both in the united states and the eu. in 2010, the united states was the first country to pass a comprehensive law on the regulation of its financial sector in the form of what is commonly referred to as the frank - dodd act. as suggested by the g20 countries, the regulations on otc derivatives were tightened and clearing obligations were imposed, requiring transactions to be cleared through ccps. within the eu, this was achieved through the introduction of the european market infrastructure regulation ( emir ) in 2012. this new regulation ultimately led to a substantial increase in the importance of ccps offering services for derivatives contracts which were now subject to a clearing obligation. among the main beneficiaries of this development within the eu were the ccps domiciled in the uk, with their focus on clearing interest rate and credit default derivatives. both the size of london ’ s financial centre, which is the most important one in the eu in its current form, and the liquidity available there certainly contributed towards the success of these ccps. for historical reasons, many ccps specialise in certain products and currencies. for global market players, in particular, there is thus always s certain need to make use of ccps outside their own jurisdiction. it is, consequently, not unusual for global credit institutions to be a member 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches of or participant in several eu and us ccps, either directly or indirectly through a subsidiary. however, market participants are only able to use third - country ccps and thus participate across regulatory borders if the supervisory authorities responsible for them recognise the regulatory framework of the third country in question as being equivalent. this has been the common practice to date regarding the eu and the united states. i will elaborate on the future relationship between the two jurisdictions later on in my speech. 4 brexit and central clearing ladies and gentlemen, let us now return to the present – and specifically to the impact of brexit on the central clearing landscape. the need for change in light of br

a major stride in raising professionalism of treasury market practitioners. while aci - the financial markets association traditionally is composed of professionals in foreign exchange market, today, it has expanded the membership to those engaged in other treasury markets ( such as bonds and derivatives ), encompassing dealing, sales, broker and back - office personnel. in the introduction of accredited training courses, it is necessary to co - operate with leading and renowned educational institutions to provide quality training so as to achieve the objective of raising professional standard and gain wide recognition. i am happy to announce that the chinese university of hong kong and the university of science and technology will offer certificate programmes on dealing, settlement and fixed income securities. practitioners can take these courses to obtain a professional qualification to meet part of the membership requirement of the association. in addition, the new regime recognises the rapid evolution in financial markets, and the need for continuous professional training in upgrading the skills and expertise of practitioners. a new requirement on continuous professional training is therefore introduced for the renewal of the membership. in strengthening the international financial centre status of hong kong, it is important to foster our advantage in having a professional workforce. we believe that the launch of the new membership regime of aci - the financial markets association of hong kong and educational programmes will help upgrade the technical skills and expertise of treasury market professionals and help them to catch up with the latest developments in the markets. this will work towards our ultimate goal in raising overall competitiveness of treasury markets in hong kong. alongside the rapid growth of the mainland economy and the gradual liberalisation of their markets, there is an increasing demand for treasury markets products and services from the mainland. the treasury markets forum, as a broad - based and authoritative group, can help explore opportunities for closer co - operation with the mainland on market development issues. since the establishment of the treasury markets forum, we have made visits to the mainland financial regulatory bodies and the china association of banks to deepen our mutual understanding of the markets in two places. they were interested to learn about the work of the forum, including those in raising the professionalism of our practitioners. the forum also participated in the hong kong financial services expo held in shanghai in september to promote our treasury markets services to mainland financial institutions and enterprises. we will also organise a seminar for the mainland to promote their understanding in our financial markets, and responses from the mainland have been very favourable. in addition, we will maintain close contacts with major overseas financial centres. in particular, we intend to invite