Options, futures, and other derivatives in Russia: an overview

This article provides a descriptive overview of the Russian market for financial derivatives. According to available figures, the Russian market for financial derivatives has been subject to enormous growth ever since the financial crisis in 1998. Starting from a low level, turnover of on-exchange derivatives rose annually by an average of 168 percent between 2000 and 2006 and reached a total turnover of €102 billion in 2006. Among futures, equity futures, followed by currency futures, were the most traded on-exchange financial derivatives in Russia. Turnover of OTC derivatives, based solely on the Russian OTC foreign exchange derivatives market data, increased between April 2004 and 2007 by 47 percent per annum. Projected figures suggest a total turnover of €7.5 trillion on the Russian OTC derivatives market in 2007. In the considered period foreign exchange swaps on the RUR/USD, USD/EUR, and other rates were the most popular OTC financial derivatives in Russia.

Rotfuß, Waldemar (2010), Options, futures, and other derivatives in Russia: an overview, Journal of Financial Transformation 29 , 149-154