Template:M tldr isda Party A and Party B
Unlike most finance contracts, the ISDA has no fixed roles — swaps were formulated as contracts between equals — the labels Party A and Party B reflect that either party can be long or short or be in- or out-of-the-money — this can create documentation glitches through clerical oversight — beyond interdealer relationships, swaps aren’t contracts between equals, but no different from other forms of financed brokerage — belief in bilaterality has led to misdirected regulation — regulation has arguably concentrated, rather than dissipated risk.