CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo criticized potential regulatory overreach by the European Union that would affect U.S. derivatives markets in a keynote speech at FIA's annual Futures & Options Expo in Chicago on Oct. 17. He warned the CFTC has “blunt and strong tools” that could be used in retaliation against financial firms based in the EU, unless regulators adjust plans that would give them broad powers over U.S. clearinghouses. "The proposed amendments to EMIR, when understood alongside comments from some European officials, raise serious doubts about the European commitment to a policy of deference," he said. Giancarlo also outlined his efforts to persuade his counterparts in Europe and Asia to adopt a "new approach" to cross-border regulation based on deference, and said the CFTC is aiming to release a proposal in the first half of next year to apply this approach to its regulation of swaps. He also discussed several other areas on the CFTC's policy agenda, including his views on the regulation of automated trading, the agency's efforts to encourage technological innovation, and the agency's "record-setting" enforcement activity.
