Between June 2003 and April 2005, the repo rate was reduced by a total of 650 basis points, although at the most recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting earlier this month, the repo rate was raised by 50 basis points to 7,5 per cent per annum. Real interest rates have also come down somewhat and have become less variable.
The commissions are responsible for adopting capital and margin requirements for swap dealers and major swap participants that are not supervised by a prudential regulator. The prudential regulators and the commissions are consulting in developing the rules, and all agencies must, to the maximum extent practicable, adopt comparable standards.