Christopher Cox, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said he strongly supported a merger with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) during Congressional hearings on Thursday according to wire reports.
In a quote appearing in a Reuters’ story that must have sent chills up the spine of everyone involved in the futures industry, Cox said, “This would bring futures within the same general framework that currently governs economically similar securities.”
The story goes on to say that U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson recommended such a merger in his regulatory reform “blueprint” published in March.
