History

The startup of the Mexican Derivatives Market marks a milestone in the development and internationalization of the Mexican financial system. The project´s development was possible thanks to the continuous efforts of multi-disciplinary teams that included professionals from the Mexican Stock Exchange, the Mexican Securities Industry Association (AMIB) and S.D. Indeval.

These teams developed the operating, legal and systems infrastructure necessary to meet the legal, operating, technological and prudential requirements established jointly by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), and the Central Bank (Banco de Mexico), the financial authorities of Mexico.

The importance of an organized market for exchange-listed derivatives in countries like Mexicohas been discussed by international financial organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). These institutions recommend the creation of markets for exchange-listed derivatives in order to promote macroeconomic stability and to facilitate risk control for financial intermediaries and economic entities.

The challenge we have faced is creating this type of market in a country that has already faced numerous financial crises and that has been significantly affected by fluctuations in the international markets. This required the Mexican financial authorities to strengthen the regulatory and prudential framework applicable to the markets, as well as payment systems, intermediaries, and participants.

The process of structural change in Mexicohas also given rise to the need for special requirements in addition to the international recommendations by the Group of 30 (G-30), the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the International Federation of Stock Exchanges

(today the World Federation of Exchanges, or WFE), and the Futures Industry Association (FIA), among others.

The efforts to create an exchange-listed derivatives market in Mexicobegan in 1994 when the Mexican Stock Exchange and S.D. Indeval jointly took on the commitment to create such a market. The Stock Exchange financed the project to create a futures and options market called MexDer, Mercado Mexicano de Derivados, S.A. de C.V., meanwhile Indeval assumed the responsibility of financing the development of a derivatives clearinghouse called Asigna, Compensación y Liquidación, from 1994 until the date both these companies were formally incorporated.