On Tuesday July 30th, Gary Gensler, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), testified before US Senate Committee that one of the largest issues the CFTC will confront in the coming years is the implementation of the Volcker Rule, which will prohibit all banks from doing proprietary trading.

Also in his testimony, Gensler cited the recent progress made with cross-border swaps regulation in addition to registration of securities as positive steps forward in the CFTC’s aim to create transparency in the futures industry.

Gensler stated in his testimony to the CFTC that the Volcker Rule, which prohibits banks from using deposits in speculative trades that do not benefit consumers, is in the process of being adopted by the US. However, he also mentioned that he will have to cooperate with certain domestic regulatory bodies to fully implement the ruling.

Other issues Gensler states could pose challenging to the CFTC include the regulation and evaluation of benchmarks. He said, in his speech to the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs that the CFTC will have to work in close connection with international regulators to ensure these benchmarks are based on “fact, not fiction,” as Gensler said. The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) created a taskforce looking into benchmarks of the financial industry, and the CFTC has worked with them in the past to ensure overarching international regulation is up to standards.

A full transcript of Gary Gensler’s testimony can be found on the CFTC website.