OREANDA-NEWS. April 1, 2011. A new group of contracts, futures on federal loan bonds, has been launched today in the MICEX derivatives market. Trade in these contracts is typical of all developed on-exchange derivatives markets across the world. The MICEX’s range of instruments has been supplemented with an important element that lays the foundation for a breakthrough in the segment of interest rate derivatives.

On the first trading day, the total volume of trading in the new instruments exceeded 150 million rubles. More than fifty million rubles worth of positions were opened.

Commenting on the results of the first day of trading, the MICEX Vice President Dmitry Shcheglov said: ”... In the near future we expect an increase in the number of participants, primarily banks, which have already shown great interest in the new contracts…”

The MICEX has launched trading in deliverable futures on federal loan bonds. Three futures, on short-, medium- and long-term OFZ baskets, have been put into circulation.

The baskets include OFZ issues satisfying a number of requirements in terms of the volume in circulation and the term to maturity on the day of execution of the corresponding series of futures. The new instruments will be deliverable futures, i.e., the seller of the futures will be obliged to deliver one of the bonds comprising the basket to the buyer. The seller will choose the bond to be delivered at his own discretion (for each basket the cheapest to deliver bond will be calculated).

The specific character of the formation of the underlying asset and the principle of its execution, when any bond issue from the basket is admitted to delivery, enables to significantly limit or eliminate the possibility of price pressure in the market for underlying assets, and in addition, to reduce the risk of nondelivery of futures. Requirements for securities to be included in the corresponding basket are rigidly determined, so only the content of the basket, that is the composition of securities, is updated.

Since the launch of trading until the first delivery, trading will be held in futures with execution in September and December 2011. Later, for each basket, three series of futures with delivery in the months of the quarterly cycle will be in circulation.

According to the MICEX Vice President Dmitry Shcheglov: “The choice of September 2011 as the month of the first delivery is not accidental. We believe that time is needed to ensure that the market has formed initial liquidity, as participants need to get used to the new instrument.”