Small Branches May Not be Subject to Cross-Border Dodd-Frank Enforcement

Overseas branches of U.S. banks with less than 5% of the bank’s aggregate notional swap business may be excluded from having to comply with the Dodd-Frank Act’s collateral and clearing requirements, sources say. The branches would be required to prove that risk from their trades would not be ported back...

Gensler Expects Global Margin Rules by Mid-July

Speaking at an Institute of International Bankers conference yesterday, CFTC Chairman Gensler announced that the agency is working with the Federal Reserve, the SEC and international regulators to ensure that margin requirements for the $648 trillion over-the-counter swap market will be consistent across...

CFTC May Delay Cross-Border Swap Regulation

The CFTC has drafted a proposed exemptive order that would give foreign banks and overseas affiliates of U.S. banks temporary relief from some of the swap regulations being drawn up by the agency as required by the Dodd-Frank Act, according to sources familiar with the matter. The exemptive order would apply...

House, Senate to Square Off Over CFTC Funding

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government approved an appropriation of $308 million for the CFTC for fiscal year 2013, an increase of roughly $103 million over the agency’s current budget. Under the proposal, the SEC budget would increase by $245 million to roughly...

CFTC’s Gensler Touts Central Clearing Benefits

In a speech yesterday at the Sandler O’Neill Global Exchange & Brokerage Conference, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler spoke about the commission’s progress in implementing new rules mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, while providing details on the gradual implementation of central clearing for...

CFTC’s 85% Rule in the Spotlight Again

A controversial rule proposed as part of the CFTC’s efforts to implement regulations mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act is being subjected to renewed criticism by industry groups that fear it will hurt markets. The so-called 85% rule was originally proposed in December 2010 as part of a larger set of...

CFTC Funding Targeted for Cuts by House Committee

The House Appropriations Committee’s fiscal 2013 spending package was released today, causing a chorus of protests from financial regulators. The budget proposal would cut the CFTC’s budget by $25 million, while raising the SEC’s by $50 million. The Republican-led committee’s plan runs counter to the...

CFTC Vote on Cross-Border Swaps Regulation Expected Soon

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission may vote on interpretive guidance extending the Dodd-Frank Act to some overseas swap trading as soon as June 21, said sources familiar with the matter. The question of whether Dodd-Frank should be applied outside the U.S. has been hotly debated for months....

Battle Over Volcker Rule’s Aggregate Hedging Exemption Intensifies

As the CFTC moves closer to implementing the Volcker Rule, a provision of the Dodd-Frank Act that would ban proprietary trading by commercial banks, critics and proponents of the rule are clashing over how to define hedging, which would be allowed under the regulation. There is a general consensus that...

O’Malia Criticizes CFTC’s “High-Frequency” Approach to Regulation

In a far-ranging speech Thursday at MarkitSERV’s 2012 Outlook for OTC Markets event, CFTC Commissioner Scott O’Malia criticized the commission’s rush to finalize rules implementing the Dodd-Frank Act, comparing it to the kind of High-Frequency Trading (HFT) that has led to market disruptions such as...