Two-speed regulation

摘要

With enough political will, the US can be nimble when pushing through controversial reform. The EU, bound by layers of procedure from often competing institutions, cannot. Policymakers and regulators fear that this twin-speed US-EU approach to reforming oversight of derivatives - including over-the-counter (OTC) oil swaps - will lead to regulatory arbitrage, as trading firms shift volumes to less onerous regimes. This misses the point somewhat. Even if Washington, London and Brussels moved in lock-step on financial reform, there are plenty of would-be financial centres ready to welcome the revenues of hosting the world's OTC derivatives business.