Could CFTC Bring Back Reg AT?
Could CFTC Bring Back Reg AT?
Morrison & Foerster’s Julian Hammar discusses the potential revival of Regulation Automated Trading (Reg AT) in the WatersTechnology article “Could CFTC Bring Back Reg AT?”
Last week, Heath Tarbert was confirmed as the new Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair. During his nomination hearing before the Senate agriculture committee, Tarbert said that he is willing to reopen the proposal of Reg AT to improve oversight of automated trading, which was first introduced in late 2015 but dropped after the 2016 presidential election.
“The CFTC may do something to reopen Reg AT,” said Julian. “It might not be as far-reaching as the proposal from before. But when people speak at public Senate hearings, they tend to remember it, and it sticks in the heads of the senators, who may try to follow up.”
Julian pointed out that just days after Tarbert’s comments, commission staff put out a report finding that automated trading orders have increased massively in futures markets, suggesting that this topic is still very much on the regulator’s mind.
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