trade confirmation

USA

trade confirmation, Also known as a swap confirmation, or simply a confirmation.

A document which parties to a derivatives transaction use to specify the commercial terms of the transaction, including pricing terms such as spreads. A confirmation also typically lists the notional amount of the transaction and the reference entity, if any. A credit derivatives confirmation will also specify the reference obligation and set out deliverable obligation characteristics (such as, for example, senior unsubordinated notes of the reference entity), among other terms, of the transaction.

Although ISDA publishes certain template confirmations for various types of derivatives transactions, a confirmation can take many forms and is sometimes simply an informal documentation of a bespoke trade (bespoke transaction).

The confirmation is generally incorporated by reference into, and forms a part of, an ISDA Master Agreement. While the ISDA Master Agreement specifies terms that may be applicable to one or more transactions, each transaction under an ISDA Master is usually documented by a separate confirmation.

Parties to derivatives transactions also may use a long-form confirmation, which lists the commercial terms of a transaction in addition to terms that might typically be found in a Schedule, such as additional termination events and events of default.

For more on the confirmation, see Practice Note, ISDA Documents: Overview: Confirmation (www.practicallaw.com/1-386-3976).

See also

additional termination event (ATE)

ISDA Credit Support Annex

over-the-counter derivative (OTC derivative)