BIPRU 1.2 Definition of the trading book

This section applies to a BIPRU firm.

The trading book of a firm consists of all position in CRD financial instrument and commodities held either with trading intent or in order to hedge other elements of the trading book and which are either free of any restrictive covenants on their tradability or able to be hedged.

[Note: CAD Article 11(1)]

The term position includes proprietary positions and positions arising from client servicing and market making.

[Note: CAD Article 11(2) second sentence]

Term trading-related repo-style transactions that a firm accounts for in its non-trading book may be included in the trading book for capital requirement purposes so long as all such repo-style transactions are included. For this purpose, trading-related repo-style transactions are defined as those that meet the requirements of BIPRU 1.2.4 R, BIPRU 1.2.10 R and BIPRU 1.2.12 R, and both legs are in the form of either cash or securities includable in the trading book. Regardless of where they are booked, all repo-style transactions are subject to a non-trading book counterparty credit risk charge.

[Note: CAD Annex VII Part D point 4]

A CRD financial instrument means any contract that gives rise to both a financial asset of one party and a financial liability or equity instrument of another party.

[Note: CAD Article 3(1)(e)]

CRD financial instruments include both primary CRD financial instrument or cash instruments, and derivative CRD financial instruments the value of which is derived from the price of an underlying CRD financial instrument, a rate, an index or the price of another underlying item and include as a minimum the instruments specified in Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Regulated Activities Order4.

[Note: CAD Article 3(1) last paragraph]

Positions held with trading intent for the purpose of the definition of the trading book are those held intentionally for short-term resale and/or with the intention of benefiting from actual or expected short-term price differences between buying and selling prices, or from other price or interest rate variations.

[Note: CAD Article 11(2) first sentence]

Trading intent must be evidenced on the basis of the strategies, policies and procedures set up by the firm to manage the position or portfolio in accordance with BIPRU 1.2.12 R.

[Note: CAD 11(3)]

Positions/portfolios held with trading intent must comply with the following requirements:

1. (1)

   there must be a clearly documented trading strategy for the position/instrument or portfolios, approved by senior management, which must include the expected holding horizon;

2. (2)

   there must be clearly defined policies and procedures to monitor the position against the firm's trading strategy including the monitoring of turnover and stale position in the firm's trading book; and

3. (3)

   there must be clearly defined policies and procedures for the active management of the position, which must include the following:

   1. (a)

      position entered into on a trading desk;

   2. (b)

      position limits are set and monitored for appropriateness;

   3. (c)

      dealers have the autonomy to enter into/manage the position within agreed limits and according to the approved strategy;

   4. (d)

      positions are reported to senior management as an integral part of the firm's risk management process; and

   5. (e)

      positions are actively monitored with reference to market information sources and an assessment made of the marketability or hedge-ability of the position or its component risks, including the assessment of, the quality and availability of market inputs to the valuation process, level of market turnover, sizes of positions traded in the market.

   [Note: CAD Annex VII Part A]

Internal hedges may be included in the trading book, in which case BIPRU 1.2.14 R to BIPRU 1.2.16 R apply.

[Note: CAD Article 11(5)]

1. (1)

   An internal hedge is a position that materially or completely offsets the component risk element of a non-trading book position or a set of position. Positions arising from internal hedges are eligible for trading book capital treatment, provided that they are held with trading intent and that the general criteria on trading intent and prudent valuation specified in BIPRU 1.2.12 R and the trading book systems and controls rules. In particular:

   1. (a)

      internal hedges must not be primarily intended to avoid or reduce capital requirements;

   2. (b)

      internal hedges must be properly documented and subject to particular internal approval and audit procedures;

   3. (c)

      the internal transaction must be dealt with at market conditions;

   4. (d)

      the bulk of the market risk that is generated by the internal hedge must be dynamically managed in the trading book within the authorised limits; and

   5. (e)

      internal transactions must be carefully monitored.

2. (2)

   Monitoring must be ensured by adequate procedures.

   [Note: CAD Annex VII Part C point 1]

The treatment referred to in BIPRU 1.2.14 R applies without prejudice to the capital requirements applicable to the "non-trading book leg" of the internal hedge.

[Note: CAD Annex VII Part C point 2]

By way of derogation from 1 BIPRU 1.2.14 R to BIPRU 1.2.15 R, when a firm hedges a non-trading book credit risk exposure using a credit derivative booked in its trading book (using an internal hedge), the non-trading book exposure is not deemed to be hedged for the purposes of calculating capital requirements unless the firm purchases from an eligible third party protection provider a credit derivative meeting the requirements set out in BIPRU 5.7.13 R (Additional requirements for credit derivatives) with regard to the non-trading book exposure. Without prejudice to the second sentence of BIPRU 14.2.10 R, where 1such third party protection is purchased and is recognised as a hedge of a non-trading book exposure for the purposes of calculating capital requirements, neither the internal nor external credit derivative hedge must1be included in the trading book for the purposes of calculating capital requirements.

[Note: CAD Annex VII Part C point 3]

1. (1)

   Subject to (3), a firm may calculate its capital requirements for its trading book business in accordance with the standardised approach to credit risk (or, if it has an IRB permission, the IRB approach) as it applies to the non-trading book where the size of the trading book business meets the following requirements:

   1. (a)

      the trading book business of the firm does not normally exceed 5% of its total business;

   2. (b)

      its total trading book position do not normally exceed €15 million; and

   3. (c)

      the trading book business of the firm never exceeds 6% of its total business and its total trading book positions never exceed €20 million.

2. (2)

   Subject to (3), if (1) applies, the following are disapplied:

   1. (a)

      the rules relating to the interest rate PRR, the equity PRR, the CIU PRR and the PRR calculated under BIPRU 7.11 (Credit derivatives in the trading book);

   2. (b)

      the rules relating to the option PRR (but only in relation to positions which under BIPRU 7.6.5 R (Table: Appropriate calculation for an option or warrant) may be subject to one of the other PRR charges listed in (2)(a) or which would be subject to such a PRR charge if BIPRU 7.6.5 R did not require an option PRR to be calculated);

   3. (c)

      BIPRU 7.10 (Use of a Value at Risk Model) so far as BIPRU 7.10 relates to the risks covered by the requirements in (a) and (b); and

   4. (d)

      BIPRU 14 (Capital requirements for settlement and counterparty risk).

3. (3)

   If (1) applies, the following continue to apply:

   1. (a)

      the rules relating to the commodity PRR and the foreign currency PRR;

   2. (b)

      the rules relating to the option PRR (so far as not disapplied under (2)(b);

   3. (c)

      BIPRU 7.10 (so far as not disapplied under (2)(c));

   4. (d)

      BIPRU 14.2.3 R to BIPRU 14.2.8 R (Credit derivatives); and

   5. (e)

      BIPRU 14.2.15 R to BIPRU 14.2.16 R (Collateral for repurchase transactions and other products).

   [Note: CAD Article 18(2)]

In order to calculate the proportion that trading book business bears to total business for the purpose of BIPRU 1.2.17 R (1)(a) to BIPRU 1.2.17R (1)(c) the firm must refer to the size of the combined on- and off-balance-sheet business. For this purpose, debt instruments must be valued at their market prices or their principal values, equities at their market prices and derivatives according to the nominal or market values of the instruments underlying them. Long positions and short positions must be summed regardless of their signs.

[Note: CAD Article 18(3)]

If a firm should happen for more than a short period to exceed either or both of the limits imposed in BIPRU 1.2.17 R (1)(a) and BIPRU 1.2.17R (1)(b) or either or both of the limits imposed in BIPRU 1.2.17 R (1)(c):

1. (1)

   BIPRU 1.2.17 R ceases to apply; and

2. (2)

   the firm must notify the appropriate regulator.

   [Note: CAD Article 18(4)]

A firm must implement policies and processes for the measurement and management of all material sources and effects of market risks.

[Note: BCD Annex V, Part 7 point 10]

A firm must establish and maintain systems and controls to manage its trading book, in accordance with the trading book systems and controls rules, BIPRU 1.2.6 R (Definition of the trading book: Repos) and the overall financial adequacy rule to BIPRU 1.2.27 R (Trading book policy statements).

[Note: CAD Article 11(4)]

A firm must establish and maintain systems and controls sufficient to provide prudent and reliable valuation estimates.

[Note: CAD Annex VII Part B point 1]

Systems and controls must include at least the following elements:

1. (1)

   documented policies and procedures for the process of valuation (including clearly defined responsibilities of the various areas involved in the determination of the valuation, sources of market information and review of their appropriateness, frequency of independent valuation, timing of closing prices, procedures for adjusting valuations, month end and ad-hoc verification procedures); and

2. (2)

   reporting lines for the department accountable for the valuation process that are clear and independent of the front office.

   [Note: CAD Annex VII Part B point 2]

The reporting line in relation to the matters covered by BIPRU 1.2.21 R to BIPRU 1.2.24 R must ultimately be to an executive director on the firm's governing body.

[Note: CAD Annex VII Part B point 2 (last sentence)]

A firm must have clearly defined policies and procedures for determining which positions to include in the trading book for the purposes of calculating its capital requirements, consistent with the criteria set out in BIPRU 1.2.3 R to BIPRU 1.2.4 R, BIPRU 1.2.10 R to BIPRU 1.2.11 R, BIPRU 1.1.13 R and BIPRU 1.2.22 R and taking into account the firm's risk management capabilities and practices. Compliance with these policies and procedures must be fully documented and subject to periodic internal audit.

[Note: CAD Annex VII Part D point 1]

A firm must have clearly defined policies and procedures for overall management of the trading book. At a minimum these policies and procedures must address:

1. (1)

   the activities the firm considers to be trading and as constituting part of the trading book for capital requirement purposes;

2. (2)

   the extent to which a position can be marked-to-market daily by reference to an active, liquid two-way market;

3. (3)

   for positions that are marked-to-model, the extent to which the firm can:

   1. (a)

      identify all material risks of the position;

   2. (b)

      hedge all material risks of the position with instruments for which an active, liquid two-way market exists; and

   3. (c)

      derive reliable estimates for the key assumptions and parameters used in the model;

4. (4)

   the extent to which the firm can, and is required to, generate valuations for the position that can be validated externally in a consistent manner;

5. (5)

   the extent to which legal restrictions or other operational requirements would impede the firm's ability to effect a liquidation or hedge of the position in the short term;

6. (6)

   the extent to which the firm can, and is required to, actively risk manage the position within its trading operation; and

7. (7)

   the extent to which the firm may transfer risk or positions between the non-trading book and trading book and the criteria for such transfers.

   [Note: CAD Annex VII Part D point 2]

1. (1)

   The policies and procedures referred to in the overall financial adequacy rule and BIPRU 1.2.27 R must be recorded in a single written document. A firm may record those policies and procedures in more than one written document if the firm has a single written document that identifies:

   1. (a)

      all those other documents; and

   2. (b)

      the parts of those documents that record those policies and procedures.

2. (2)

   A trading book policy statement means the single document referred to in this rule.

1. (1)

   A firm must notify the appropriate regulator as soon as is reasonably practicable when it adopts a trading book policy statement.

2. (2)

   A firm must notify the appropriate regulator as soon as is reasonably practicable if the trading book policy statement is subject to significant changes.