ISDA, EMTA & FX Committee Announce Website Publication of Revised Annex A to 1998 FX and Currency Option Definitions

NEW YORK, September 22, 2000—The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), the Emerging Markets Traders Association (EMTA), and the Foreign Exchange Committee (the FX Committee) announced today that a revised version of Annex A to the 1998 FX and Currency Option Definitions (the "1998 Definitions") has been published on the websites of these Sponsoring Organizations (www.isda.org, www.emta.org and www.newyorkfed.org/fxc).

Annex A contains currency and currency spot rate definitions and other related definitions and provisions for use in documenting foreign exchange and currency option transactions, including non-deliverable transactions, under the 1998 Definitions.

The revised Annex A, dated and effective September 25, 2000, incorporates all previously issued amendments to the March 1998 version of Annex A. In addition, obsolete rate source definitions have been deleted, several new rate source definitions have been added, and modifications have been made to existing rate source definitions to render them more accurate.

Other terms have been revised in the September 25, 2000 version of Annex A to better reflect market practice in the non-deliverable foreign exchange markets. Most notably, the definition of CURRENCY-REFERENCE DEALERS has been revised to differentiate between the polling procedures to be carried out when that term is used in the ordinary course to determine a settlement rate, as opposed to when that term is used as a fallback rate mechanism upon the occurrence of a market disruption. The definition of Specified Amount has also been revised.

The Sponsoring Organizations will continue to issue amendments to Annex A in order to ensure that it remains an accurate, current and useful resource for market participants. A new version of Annex A will be published periodically to incorporate these amendments. In addition, the original version of Annex A is posted, and successive versions of Annex A will be posted, on the websites of the Sponsoring Organizations. Under the 1998 Definitions, unless the parties agree otherwise, the version of Annex A current as of the trade date applies to a transaction.