The Commodity Markets Council, a Washington-based lobbying firm that represents agricultural and energy companies, has urged the CFTC to delay Dodd-Frank regulations on swap dealers from taking effect next month.
Members of the CMC, including Kraft Foods and Rand Financial Services, Inc., want to extend the requirement because the costs of operating as a regulated entity are unsure. If uncertainty persists, the CMC says, potential swap dealers may exit the market.
“This would be an unfortunate outcome, given that it will further concentrate participation in the swaps market in the very institution that Congress perceived to be the cause of the financial crisis in 2008,” said Sanjeev Joshipura, president of the CMC.
The registration costs only apply, however, if companies tally swap trades in excess of an $8 billion threshold.
The CFTC estimates that 125 entities, including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, will register as swap dealers by the end of the year. Given this ‘bank-like’ environment, some companies are anxious for clarification on costs, whereas others, such as those represented by the CMC, are pressing for delays.
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