NGFA on May 12 sent a letter to Terry Duffy, executive chairman and president of the CME Group, with recommendations for an emergency action plan in the event of future Globex outages, such as the one that occurred on April 8. The NGFA commended CME for its investment in Globex and the efficiencies it has produced. However, the organization stated that, like any system, contingency planning should be done now to prepare for potential future outages.
Among its recommendations, NGFA asked CME Group to formulate a communications plan so that market participants are aware of next steps to avoid the kind of confusion that occurred in April. In addition, the letter urged that if Globex experiences a future outage, open outcry trading also should be shut down until such time as Globex becomes operational again. The NGFA noted that a brief “clean-up” session might be needed after a Globex outage is resolved, even if it occurs after regular trading hours.
For additional information, see the full text of the NGFA letter to the CME Group.