CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives marketplace, announced that its Chief Executive Officer Craig Donohue will appear tomorrow before a joint meeting of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the differences in rules and philosophies as well as consequences and benefits of harmonizing regulations and regulatory approaches of the two Commissions.
"The goal of harmonization is to assure that the regulators of futures, swaps, security-swaps, securities and security options effectively work together to: promote efficient markets, provide safe central counterparty clearing houses and eliminate regulatory gaps," Donohue said. "Harmonization does not include a merger of the existing regulatory structures into a single set of one-size-fits-all rules administered by separate agencies. This would lead to duplicative regulation, which is costly, stifles innovation and guarantees that overseas competitors will always be first to market. To achieve this goal, it is imperative that the CFTC and the SEC take into account the critical dissimilarities of their respective markets and the adverse consequences of trying to force them into the same mold. Equally, we must ensure that harmonization efforts position U.S. exchanges and intermediaries to compete effectively in the global financial marketplace.
"Futures exchanges and the futures industry have been reinvigorated by the application of principles-based regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act; we were a shining star while the rest of the financial services industry faltered during the recent financial meltdown."
The meeting is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday at the CFTC lobby-level hearing room, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington DC. The testimony will be available also at 9:00 a.m. at www.cmegroup.MediaRoom.com.