Key Senator Proposes Limiting All Swaps, Derivatives Trading To Regulated Exchanges

摘要

The head of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry took anti-speculation legislation to the next level on November 20, proposing a bill that would ban allrntrading of over-the-counter swaps and derivatives that does not take place on a regulated futures exchange.rn"I am absolutely convinced that we must outlaw ... any kind of over-the-counter swaps and derivatives," Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, said in a conference call with reporters. "We have to bring all of these swaps and derivatives - all of them - onto regulated exchanges."rnHarkin's Derivatives Trading Integrity Act of 2008 would designate the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as the sole regulator over all futures contracts and would require all swaps, derivatives and OTC trades to be placed on a regulated exchange. It also would subject such instruments to daily reporting, transparency and margin requirements, Harkin said.rnAlthough primarily aimed at tightening regulatory control over broader financial instruments such as credit default swaps, the legislation also would affect trading in energy, metals and agriculture, as it would eliminate the distinction between excluded and exempt commodities and exchange-traded commodities, Harkin said.