The Financial Markets Lawyers Group (FMLG) advises on legal issues relevant to over-the-counter (OTC) foreign exchange and other financial markets.
The FMLG comprises lawyers who support foreign exchange and other financial markets trading in leading worldwide financial institutions. We are sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Our informal origins date back to the late 1980s, when a group of lawyers jointly developed a model master netting agreement for foreign exchange trading in the United States.
Today we continue to draft new trade documentation in addition to best practice recommendations, legal briefs, comment letters, and policy papers relating to OTC market developments. We advise the Foreign Exchange Committee (FXC) on many of its initiatives and also pursue our own capital markets initiatives.
We maintain contacts with OTC industry associations and official institutions worldwide as part of our goal to maintain channels of communication and cooperation on issues that are important to the foreign exchange and OTC markets. Among the groups with which we enjoy close ties are
- the Emerging Markets Traders Association (EMTA);
- the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA);
- the European Financial Market Lawyers Group (EFMLG), which is sponsored by the European Central Bank;
- the Financial Law Board (FLB), which is sponsored by the Bank of Japan;
- the Financial Markets Law Committee, which was established by, but is independent of, the Bank of England;
- the London Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee (FXJSC), which is sponsored by the Bank of England;
- the Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC); and
- the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).
Our accomplishments include the first industry foreign exchange master give-up agreement, co-sponsorship of the Master Confirmation Agreement for non-deliverable FX forward transactions, and the 1998 FX and Currency Option Definitions. FMLG members have participated in a number of global initiatives, including the development of the FX Global Code, the Global Documentation Steering Committee, the Hague Convention on collateral accounts, and industry preparation for Y2K and the conversion to the euro.
