Financial Regulatory Forum

By Kevin Drawbaugh
WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) – A senior U.S. lawmaker lashed out anew over the rich pay packages awarded to executives of bailed-out banks on Wednesday, as Congress took steps to move ahead on financial regulatory reform.

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By Kevin Drawbaugh and Christopher Doering
WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) – The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee on Friday unveiled a draft bill on regulation of over-the-counter derivatives that differs in some key respects from bills drawn up elsewhere in the House and by the Obama administration.

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  — John Kemp is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own –

By John Kemp
LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Prominent banks and some business groups have warned policymakers their efforts to force standardised over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives transactions onto futures exchanges and into the clearing system will drive trading offshore and raise the cost of genuine risk-hedging for non-financial firms.
But scaremongering by the finance industry’s well-paid lobbyists about “unintended consequences” should not deter legislators from pressing ahead with a worthwhile reform.

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By Jane Merriman
LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) – The opaque world of credit derivatives is in the spotlight ahead of an auction to settle contracts on a debt restructuring at French electronics company Thomson that could expose flaws in the process.

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By Charles Abbott and Rachelle Younglai
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Congress’ chief architect on financial regulation said on Wednesday companies that use derivatives to hedge their risk would not be forced to comply with all the new rules for the $450 trillion private swaps market.
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COLUMN-Beware the bull market in derivatives: Matthew Goldstein
– Matthew Goldstein is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own – 
   By Matthew Goldstein
   NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) – The Dow is near 10,000 again. The business press is full of stories about the resurgence in mergers, IPOs and even so-called blank check companies.
   There’s one statistic, however, that should give investors pause: the growth in the total dollar value of derivative contracts at the top too-big-to-fail banks in the United States. (more…)

By Charles Abbott and Rachelle Younglai
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. securities regulator warned Congress on Tuesday that parts of the $450 trillion private swaps market could still fall through regulatory cracks under the Obama administration’s financial reform plan.

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NEW YORK, Sept 16 (Reuters) – CME Group, the giant Chicago-based operator of derivatives exchanges, would impose new position limits on NYMEX energy contracts in response to a push by U.S. regulators for renewed scrutiny in energy trading, CEO Craig Donohue said in an interview Wednesday.
CME would apply the limits, laid out in a CME White Paper released Wednesday, as long as regulators agree to enforce limits in venues where commodities are traded around the world, and extend them to include over-the-counter commodities swap contracts as well, Donohue said.

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    By Huw Jones
   LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Central clearing of privately traded derivatives contracts won’t be enough to make the $600 trillion sector safe, while clearing of some bespoke trades may not be desirable, the Bank of International Settlements said. (more…)

LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Britain’s financial watchdog said on Friday it would be taking action against firms as the result of a review into the structured products sector.

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