26.10.95 IDB, ISDA CO-SPONSOR LATIN AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON DERIVATIVES

                         
NR-233/95                                    Daniel Drosdoff (202) 623-2407
                                           E-Mail: danieldr@iadb.org


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         October 26, 1995


       IDB, ISDA CO-SPONSOR LATIN AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON DERIVATIVES    

     Regulators and market participants to explore derivatives use and
control

      Leading financiers, regulators, analysts, and academic specialists of the
Western Hemisphere will address the "Latin American Derivatives Conference" that
will be held at the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Inter-American
Development Bank during Nov. 9-10.
      The conference, co-sponsored by the IDB and the International Swaps and
Derivatives Association (ISDA), will explore recent developments in Latin
America's derivatives markets, the uses and benefits of derivatives trading, and
appropriate measures of oversight.
      IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias will inaugurate the conference at 8:45
a.m. on Nov. 9, and Arthur Levitt, chairman of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, will address a luncheon at the Bank that same day.
      Other speakers include Mark C. Brickell, managing director of J.P. Morgan
& Co.; Joaquin Avila, managing director of Global Capital Markets of Santander
Investment; Gabriel Posada, director general, Industrial Harinera La Asuncion,
S.A. (Mexico), Roland A. Perez, managing director, Merrill Lynch; Marco Aurelio
Teixeira, superintendente tecnica, Bolsa de Mercadorias & Futuros (Brazil);
Rogerio Bruno Crissiuma, director, Comissßo de Valores Mobiliarios (Brazil);
Robert J. Mackay, professor of finance and director of the Futures and Options
Center of Virginia Tech; Joseph Dial, commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading
Commission; and Bradley P. Ziff, director, Arthur Andersen & Co.
      Derivatives are contracts whose value is derived from the performance of
an underlying financial asset, commodity, or index.  Common examples of
derivatives are futures, forwards, options, and swaps on currencies or interest
rates, as well as other instruments.  Companies and banks use derivatives to
hedge their financial transactions while traders frequently assume positions
through derivative contracts .


      Members of the media who wish to attend please register with Vivian
Pinkert, Tel. (202) 623-1414, fax (202) 789-2835, or E-Mail Vivianpk@iadb.org

      Nonmedia delegates should register with Leticia Aguilar, Tel. (202) 623-
1648, fax (202) 623-2157, E-Mail leticiaa@iadb.org