Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) sent a letter to six federal financial regulators expressing their concerns with the European Commission’s recent decision to delay implementation of their rules on margin for un-cleared swaps. The Agriculture leaders asked U.S. regulators to work with their European counterparts to keep to the agreed timetable or to coordinate a new global implementation timeline.

The Congressmen write, “The EC’s decision to delay its un-cleared margin rules is disappointing, especially given the manner in which it was communicated to international regulators and market participants.  Absent a decision by the EC to reevaluate its decision, the regulatory arbitrage and market fragmentation predicted by regulators may come to pass.

“If no regulator is willing to make a change, years of effort to carefully negotiate this change in global derivatives markets will be undone. The coordination of the un-cleared margin rules was an important success for global financial regulators.  While the EC’s decision to delay its rules was surprising and unexpected, the consequences of staying the current course are not.  We ask you to work with your colleagues and prevent a needless financial unraveling across global markets.”

The letter can be viewed here.