The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has, to put it mildly, had a not-so-great record of keeping fraud in check over the past few years, and now the U.S. government could be taking action. The Obama administration could strip the SEC of some of its powers as part of a regulatory overhaul, according to Bloomberg. While the story merely speculates on the removal of powers, some of which would be handed over to the Federal Reserve, it’s an interesting idea and raises questions about where regulation in the United States is headed.
On the futures side, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission(CFTC) got a boost this week with the much-delayed approval of Gary Gensler as CFTC chair. The approval process had been held up by objections from Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). There was much speculation about when and if Gensler would be approved, so this no doubt takes a load off of the agency’s (and the industry’s) shoulders.
Tags: CFTC, Gary Gensler, SEC
