Opening Statements
Opening Statement of Chairman Lucas at Dodd-Frank Derivatives Reform: Challenges Facing U.S. and International Markets Subcommittee Hearing(As prepared for delivery)
Washington, DC,
December 13, 2012
MEDIA CONTACT: Good morning. Chairman Conaway, I appreciate you holding this timely and important hearing to examine very real challenges that are facing both the U.S. and international regulators as they attempt to balance various reforms across a global marketplace. I hope we can all agree that reforming the OTC derivatives marketplace is a global effort that demands genuine coordination- not the appearance of coordination. If due care is not taken to complement regulatory structures across various foreign jurisdictions, we could seriously jeopardize the efficiencies currently found in a global market whose notional value well-exceeds $600 Trillion, with a “T”, dollars. Commissioner Sommers, I want to congratulate and thank you for addressing numerous cross-border issues at the Commission’s Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC) on November 7th. I share many of the concerns echoed at that meeting. Commissioner Chilton, I appreciate you testifying today and look forward to hearing your views. I also would like to echo my thanks to Mr. Kono and Mr. Pearson for taking time out of their extremely busy schedules to travel thousands of miles to testify before the Committee. I think that fact alone should demonstrate that the rest of the world is very serious about getting derivatives reform right, and the United States should reciprocate that level of concern. It is my hope that today’s hearing will continue to foster greater dialogue and actual sincere coordination between U.S. and international regulators. Without proper coordination, American end-users will face higher costs because it will cost more or be impossible for some of them to access the global markets to manage risk. Finally, we must remember that the United States was the first nation in the world to enact derivatives reform legislation, and as the first-mover on reform, we cannot take an approach that is substantially more restrictive than foreign jurisdictions or U.S. institutions will cease to remain competitive around the world. This is a result that we can and must avoid at all cost. Thank you again Mr. Chairman, and I yield back. ### |