Revised swaps rule cuts collateral needed for affiliates

Washington

WALL Street banks will escape billions of dollars in additional collateral costs after US regulators softened a rule that would have made their derivatives activities much more expensive.

Two agencies approved a final rule on Thursday that will govern how much money financial firms must set aside in derivatives deals. A key change from recent draft versions of the rule - and the focus of months of debate among regulators - cut in half what the companies must post in transactions between their own divisions.