10/28/2011
The head of the futures regulator in the U.S. on Tuesday defended the extensive new measures to watch over the swaps market and dismissed efforts in Congress to introduce changes to the sweeping financial reform that regulators are a couple of months behind in putting in place.
An aggressive time table to finish a regulatory framework for the $600 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market, which is required under the Dodd-Frank law, was laid out by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Republicans, who have been chafing at the new regulations, have been very vocal in their criticism of the CFTC. Lawmakers this week were scheduled this week to review proposals that would introduce changes to the Dodd-Frank law.
Gary Gensler, the CFTC chairman, told reporters after addressing a Chicago conference of the Futures Industry Association, said, “I’m aware of (the bills), but … we have a law in front of us. We’re moving to finalize rules consistent with that statute”
15 rules have already been finalized by the U.S. futures regulator. However, most of the controversial and high-profile rules, including one to curb excessive speculation, remain.
Gensler has already outlined a timetable for the rules that the CFTC expects to put under consideration in 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. However, he did acknowledge that some of those rules may fall into the second quarter.
He said, “It will probably be a little bit longer than (the first quarter), but I look at the next six to nine months as a time where we at the CFTC get this done.”
