FX and Currency Derivatives Documentation

History. Commencing in 1998, when the 1998 FX and Currency Options Definitions (the “1998 FX Definitions”) were first published by EMTA, Inc. (then, the “Emerging Markets Traders Association) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) as cosponsors, EMTA began to prepare documentation to support the EMTA Membership in the trading of Emerging Markets non-deliverable FX and currency derivatives. Over the years, this involved market practices, standard forms of transaction documents, notices of market developments, user’s guides, multilateral amendments and more. Commencing in 2023, EMTA and ISDA, as cosponsors of the 1998 FX and Currency Option Transactions began to discuss the need for a holistic update to the 1998 Definitions themselves. This involved the potential consolidation of provisions and standard terms for many types of currency derivatives including non-deliverable FX and currency option transactions. The industry process began in 2024 with a goal of a full implementation by 2027.

An important aspect of the project was the consolidation of the EMTA and ISDA documentation architecture under one umbrella, and importantly for the Emerging Markets industry, the incorporation of the EMTA Template Terms into the new and updated FX Definitions booklet (the “New FX Definitions”). The New FX Definitions will be fully digitized and will incorporate all the various FX-related supplement and addendums published by ISDA over the years as well as the provisions found in the EMTA Template Terms, Annex A, the forms of NDF and NDO Master Confirmation Agreements and many of the other materials produced by EMTA over the years that reflect standard practices for trading non-deliverable FX and currency derivatives products. These will be published on the ISDA myLibrary platform accessible through ISDA website. The New Definitions will be published by EMTA and ISDA as cosponsors on the ISDA website for a period of time before their full implementation to allow the industry adequate time to implement the new terms and provisions into back offices and infrastructure systems.

As a consequence of these many developments, materials (such as the EMTA Template Terms) previously hosted on the EMTA website have been removed and archived or have been retained by EMTA on its website but marked for historical reference (and are so indicated) to avoid having inconsistent and/or outdated documentation published by EMTA and ISDA following the implementation of the New FX Definitions.

EMTA Member Access to FX and Currency Derivatives Documentation. Following their publication and during an implementation period, the New FX Definitions and related documentation will be hosted by ISDA on its website on their myLibrary platform. Until the New FX Definitions are fully implemented, the EMTA Template Terms may be found at https://www.isda.org/book/fx-emerging-markets-documentation/.

Thereafter, to ensure continuing access to the necessary FX forms and terms, EMTA Members will be given complimentary access to the myLibrary area of the ISDA website where the FX Definitions will be posted. Through this complimentary access model, EMTA Members who are not also members of ISDA will see only the new FX Definitions (and not other ISDA standard definitions).

Only representatives of current EMTA Member organizations are eligible for complimentary access under the EMTA membership umbrella. This access will be reviewed and updated annually based upon EMTA Membership status.

To access the New FX Definitions, EMTA Members should navigate to ISDA’s website (www.isda.org).

Once there, each EMTA Member representative will need to establish log-in credentials (or, if such EMTA Member is also an ISDA member, enter those credentials). Click on the button for a one-year subscription (you will not be charged) and your log-in credentials should be recognized for complimentary access.

EMTA Members may contact ISDA directly if they are having any problems logging in.

EMTA Members who are not familiar with ISDA’s myLibrary platform may find useful this video tutorial that was previously prepared by ISDA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi-YVwe8gec. When reviewing the tutorial, please be reminded that EMTA Members who are not also ISDA members will only be granted access to the New FX Definitions, which is a limited offering of the myLibrary platform.

This area contains several subsections by type or category of document. Simply scroll down the page to the section you seek.

MASTER CONFIRMATION AGREEMENTS AND PRACTICE NOTES (Archived)
STANDARD DEFINITIONS (Archived)
USER'S GUIDES AND GUIDANCE NOTES
MULTILATERAL AMENDMENTS AND DOCUMENTATION PROTOCOLS
OTHER DOCUMENTATION (Archived)
SUPERSEDED EMTA TEMPLATE TERMS FOR NON-DELIVERABLE FX FORWARD AND CURRENCY OPTION TRANSACTIONS (Archived)
CURRENT RECOMMENDED EMTA TEMPLATE TERMS FOR NON-DELIVERABLE FX FORWARD TRANSACTIONS (Archived)
CURRENT RECOMMENDED EMTA TEMPLATE TERMS FOR NON-DELIVERABLE CURRENCY OPTION TRANSACTIONS (Archived)
CURRENT RECOMMENDED EMTA TEMPLATE TERMS FOR NON-DELIVERABLE CROSS CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS (Archived)