Former Acting Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Walt Lukken officially announced his resignation today after serving during a turbulent period for the regulator.
He came to the CFTC at a time when an innovative minimalist approach to regulation was generally seen as the way to go and left at a time where calls for a much heavier regulatory hand was being demanded by Congress.
He had the unfortunate task of trying to explain to Congress something it did not want to hear — regarding the impact of speculators on markets — and became its favorite whipping boy over high energy costs when they should have been keeping their eye on the unraveling banking solvency crisis.
Lukken’s approach always seemed, to us, as one that sought solutions rather than headlines which is not always the case for people working in Washington.
