In his keynote address before the Institute of International Bankers, CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad yesterday revisited some familiar themes. Under his leadership, the “new” CFTC cannot be accused of a lack of consistency. It is nevertheless a useful recap of the CFTC’s priorities as they begin the task of “fine-tuning” the discordant Dodd-Frank orchestra. A […]

The always-quotable CFTC Commissioner Scott O’Malia took a leaf from Hippocrates in a recent speech subtitled “Regulators must first do no harm”. His prescriptions for the contagions of market fragmentation, fractured liquidity and parasitical arbitrage, all consequent upon regulatory divergence, are as follows: The Cure Should Not Be Worse than the Disease: Fixing Unworkable Rules. […]

Regulators from the US and EU met on 8 July to host a meeting of the Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue. Each side brought an alphabet of agencies, subjects covered included key G20 reforms: Basel II capital\leverage\liquidity rules, respective implementation of derivatives reforms, and resolution planning[1]. Derivatives– a mutual pledge to provide greater certainty regarding trading, […]

In an unusually forthright speech yesterday, Michel Barnier stretched the limits of polite diplomatic language, almost explicitly implying that the EU grant of CCP equivalence will be withheld from the US pending the CFTC’s own recognition of the EU’s equivalency. “I intend to propose shortly that the European Commission adopt ‘equivalence’ decisions that will allow […]

The FT reports that the EU is threatening to effectively derail the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks, unless the US includes coordination of financial regulation as part of the package. Leaked documents confirm that the EU intends to up the ante by excluding discussion on all financial services, a move that would significantly […]

Prompted by yesterday’s authorisation of LCH. Clearnet Ltd. and perhaps by the “no exemptions” comment by a CFTC official, the FCA has suggested a convoluted workaround for EU CCPs who are caught in the US client asset catch 22. Article 39 EMIR, as clarified by Question CCP 8i ESMA Q&A, stipulates that a European CCP […]

An interesting snippet in today’s Risk magazine provides a further clue to the rapidly-evolving culture at the CFTC. Ananda Radhakrishnan, the Agency’s Director of the Division of Clearing and Risk, told a conference in London yesterday, “The first response cannot be: ‘CFTC, you have to provide an exemption.’ I say: why? I’m tired of providing […]

Like the dehydrated Ancient Mariner adrift in the ocean, regulators are surrounded by data, but are unable to use it. Mandatory trade reporting under Dodd-Frank and EMIR has been painful, expensive and problematic. Even in the context of lacklustre LEI uptake, the EMIR February 2014 reporting explosion saw trade repositories overwhelmed. Regulators recognise that overall […]

CFTC Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen yesterday delivered a largely unremarkable speech to a specialised committee of the DC Bar. Continuing the recent shift from faith-based regulation to a more nuanced blend of pragmatism and humility; the speech refers to recent actions having been  “issued in a deliberative and methodical way, and intentionally without haste or […]