FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 14, 2011

CONTACT: John Carey at 202-466-1854
john@ourfinancialsecurity.org

AFR Statement on CFTC Delaying Implementation of Some Derivatives Rules

Washington, DC – Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of more than 250 national and state organizations working together for strong financial reform, issued the following statement today:

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced today that it will be delaying the implementation of some of the new derivatives rules required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.

Systemic risk created by the vast unregulated over-the-counter derivatives market was a key cause of the 2008 financial crisis that has cost the US economy millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in lost retirement savings and other assets. It is crucially important that new, effective rules and safeguards for the derivatives market be put in place expeditiously. Given the CFTC’s limited resources and the scope of the rulemakings under Dodd-Frank, it is understandable that the Commission may need some limited additional time to harmonize the details of the new regulations and to continue to consult with interested parties. However, the risk to the national economy of the unregulated derivatives markets, and the cost to market participants of delay and uncertainty in the new rules, means that the CFTC must move ahead as swiftly as possible to finalize its rules. The new derivatives rules in the Dodd-Frank Act were designed to build on the already existing derivatives market infrastructure, and we believe the CFTC should be able to finalize its rules within a reasonable time frame.

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