Dodd-Frank Act: Changes to the Regulation of OTC Derivatives

The Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act, which is Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act, was enacted to regulate the over-the-counter (OTC) derivative market. Here we explore the fundamental elements of the Act that address OTC derivatives, including the classification of these instruments into swaps, security-based swaps or mixed swaps, the new categories of regulated market participants (such as swap dealers and major swap participants), mandatory clearing requirements, execution requirements, and the swap push-out rule.