CFTC Nominee Opposes EU Oversight Of US Clearinghouses

Morrison & Foerster counsel Julian E. Hammar discussed CFTC chairman nominee Heath Tarbert’s comments at his Senate nomination hearing, during which he indicated that the US should have “sovereignty” over its own clearinghouses in the Risk.net article entitled, “CFTC nominee opposes EU oversight of US clearinghouses.” If nominated, Tarbert will replace outgoing chairman Christopher Giancarlo. 

Hammar indicated he saw some hope Reg AT might be revived.  He said, “this was something Giancarlo said he wanted to tackle. His main concerns were around commission staff being able to get information right away without a subpoena. This information is source code – it is highly sensitive and proprietary information with a lot of commercial value.”  Even so, Reg AT could move forward, says Hammar. “As the markets have more than ever before become dominated by algorithmic trading, there may be a desire at the commission to take some action on Reg AT in some form,” he said.