Many Seinfeld fans will recall the angst felt by George Costanza when two of his worlds began to collide (in George’s case, his “relationship world” and his “friends world”). Some newcomers to swap clearing may be similarly concerned when they realize that their cleared swaps will not be governed by the familiar, tried and true ISDA master agreement that governs their uncleared swaps; instead they must become comfortable with new industry documentation that has emerged from the collision of the swaps and futures clearing worlds in the United States.2 This article is intended to explain the basis for this new documentation and provide an overview of its architecture and contents.
