OCC appoints Jefferies MD of FX Solutions Joseph Lewis to board of directors
“He is a widely respected leader with an innovative, forward-thinking mindset, and we will greatly benefit from his counsel as we progress in our transformation efforts, while continuously working to promote stability and market integrity.”
Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), the equity derivatives clearing organization, has announced the appointment of Joseph Lewis, Managing Director, Co-Head of Corporate Hedging and FX Solutions at Jefferies, to its Board of Directors.
Filling a vacancy left in January 2023, Joseph Lewis brings more than 20 years of experience in interest rate and foreign exchange derivatives.
Joseph Lewis’s career includes senior client coverage roles at Citibank, Barclays, and Lehman Brothers focused on interest rate, commodity and foreign exchange derivatives.
At Jefferies, a leading investment banking and capital markets firm, Joseph Lewis oversees a global team that works with companies and private equity funds to develop and implement interest rate and foreign exchange derivative hedging strategies. He is also responsible for managing the trading and counterparty credit risk management associated with client hedging strategies.
Now, besides being Managing Director, Co-Head of Corporate Hedging and FX Solutions at Jefferies, he is a board member of Teaching Matters, Bronx Excellence Charter Schools, and New Federal Theater.
Craig Donohue, Executive Chairman at OCC, said: “We are pleased to welcome Joe as he brings a wealth of risk management knowledge and experience in the global derivatives market. He is a widely respected leader with an innovative, forward-thinking mindset, and we will greatly benefit from his counsel as we progress in our transformation efforts, while continuously working to promote stability and market integrity.”
OCC fined $17m by SEC for violating own clearing rules
The appointment follows a settlement deal between OCC and the Securities and Exchange Commission in which the firm agreed to undertake remedial efforts and pay $17 million in penalties for failing to comply with its SEC-approved Stress Testing and Clearing Fund Methodology rule during certain times between October 2019 and May 2021.
Chicago-based OCC’s failure to implement and comply with its own rule was the result of its failure to properly establish, implement, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage certain operational risks, the Securities and Exchange Commission stated.
According to the SEC, the OCC failed to modify its Comprehensive Stress Testing System and did not provide timely notification to the SEC of this failure as required by Regulation SCI.
The SEC’s order also found that OCC failed to comply with its margin methodology, margin policy, and stress testing and clearing fund methodology relating to specific wrong-way risk and holiday margin.
