Under H.R. 677, the CFTC loses its jurisdiction over inter-affiliate swaps, which are defined so loosely that, according to AFR’s Marcus Stanley, “the affiliates don’t even need to share majority ownership… That’s a big, whopping exemption.”
Ever since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, “the financial industry has been spending billions of dollars on lawyers and lobbyists,” all of them “charged with one task: weaken the thing.”
A collection of letters and talking points to members of Congress regarding a number of harmful derivatives measures being considered in the House Financial Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has decided to exempt so-called inter-affiliate swaps deals from its Dodd-Frank-mandated derivatives rules.
Congress and the SEC need to stand firm in supporting the common-sense principle that all those providing financial advice to municipalities must put the best interests of taxpayers first.
Public Citizen and Americans for Financial Reform today delivered petitions signed by more than 17,000 people calling on the CFTC to stand firm in applying derivative standards to all the dealings of U.S. banks and their overseas subsidiaries.
“Last week’s Senate report on JPMorgan Chase’s ‘London Whale’ trades should have redoubled Washington’s resolve to carry out the basic derivatives safety measures of Dodd-Frank. But too many members of the House Agriculture Committee seem to have their heads buried in the sand.”
The Bond Buyer reports on resistance to House legislation that would “let big banks and swap dealers escape Dodd-Frank’s fiduciary duty provision,” relieving them of any duty to “put clients’ interests ahead of their own.”
Audio recording of this tele-conference available by calling (605) 562-3099. Reference (call) #6. Enter Access Code 815383#.
AFR sent a letter to the hill opposing HR 797. This legislation represents a major weakening of new protections created by the Dodd-Frank Act to prevent predatory behavior in Wall Street financial dealings with municipalities. These protections are critical to protecting taxpayers and citizens from exploitation.