One of the unknowns of the 35-day, partial federal government shutdown that ended on January 25 is what happens when the regulators aren’t looking. For the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), it “continued to perform essential market-critical functions throughout the shutdown,” says Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo in a statement issued on Jan. 28 when… Read More >>
CFTC Chairman Giancarlo to Step Down Next Year
J. Christopher Giancarlo will be leaving his post as chairman of the CFTC in April of next year and the Trump White House has nominated a Treasury Department official, Heath P. Tarbert, to be his replacement for a five-year term that will start April 14, 2019. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Tarbert, who now… Read More >>
CFTC Tightens Uncleared Swap Margin Requirements
Just in time for the winter holidays, the CFTC approved a final rule to tighten its uncleared swap margin requirements, known as the CFTC Margin Rule, and the changes made an appearance in the Federal Register, Vol. 83, no. 227, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. Essentially, the changes will take effect by the end of this… Read More >>
Giancarlo Wants to Overhaul Cross-Border Swaps Rules
While making clear that he supports swaps reforms for the U.S., J. Christopher Giancarlo, CFTC chairman, is pushing for an overhaul of the regulator’s “flawed approach” of trying to export its rules across borders and jurisdictions. “I have been a constant supporter of the swaps market reforms passed by the U.S. Congress … and the… Read More >>
Giancarlo’s Letter to the Pope
It took a while, but CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo and Chief Economist Bruce Tuckman have responded via a letter to the justified criticisms of derivatives and related activities that the Vatican with the blessing of Pope Francis released this past May. To recap, a Bollettino published May 17 by the Vatican’s Congregation for the… Read More >>
CFTC Focuses on Crypto Currency Listings
Earlier this week, the CFTC via its Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) released an advisory that sets up guidelines for CFTC-registered exchanges and clearinghouses registered that want to list virtual currency derivative products. But, before we dive into the new details, it’s useful to review what the CFTC… Read More >>
CFTC Chairman Unveils Swaps Reform Agenda 2.0
Swaps regulatory reform is the focus of a recent white paper/report, “Swaps Regulation Version 2.0: An Assessment of the Current Implementation of Reform and Proposals for Next Steps,” co-authored by CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo and CFTC Chief Economist Bruce Tuckman. The report was unveiled at the annual meeting of the International Swaps and Derivatives… Read More >>
CFTC & U.K.’s FCA Join Forces on FinTech Push
CFTC and FCA Sign Agreement to Collaborate The U.S. CFTC and the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) report the signing of an agreement that “commits the regulators to collaborating and supporting innovative firms through each other’s fintech initiatives” — LabCFTC in the U.S. and FCA Innovate in Great Britain. The heads of both regulators saluted… Read More >>
Clayton & Giancarlo Issue Joint Crypto Currency Warning
Regulators See Upside to Blockchain/DLT Bitcoin and the other so-called distributed-ledger cryptocurrencies have had a rollercoaster valuations ride so far this year, which may not be surprising to anyone who can identify Mt. Gox or knows that Tether, pitched to investors as the “more stable” cryptocurrency, lost nearly $31 million in tokens near the end… Read More >>
