The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today released the Recommendation for Version 4.8 of its Financial products Markup Language (FpML). Version 4.8 contains additional support for commodity and equity derivatives. The version further drives and facilitates the industry’s focus on automation and standardization in the derivatives pre- and post-trade and reporting space.
Version 4.8, which builds on Version 4.7, contains support for physically-settled commodity options. In addition, the coverage for equity derivatives is expanded to include pan-Asia index swaps.
On July 20, 2010, ISDA released the Recommendation for Version 5.0. As this version is not backwards compatible, ISDA will continue to support the 4 series of the FpML standard for existing coverage in parallel with the 5 series for a limited time. Both Version 4.8 and Version 5.0 are available on the FpML website (www.fpml.org).
Looking ahead, work on Version 4.9 has been initiated. ISDA will publish a working draft in August and the Recommendation is expected to be released by year-end. The next release in the 5 series, Version 5.1, will include the redesign of the existing coverage for FX and syndicated loans and incorporate the work of the collateral working group.
