Global Margin Rules May Be Published by Mid-July, Gensler Says

Global regulators may propose international swap-collateral standards by mid-July to prevent financial firms from exploiting rule differences between countries, said Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The CFTC, Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission and international regulators have been seeking consensus on margin policy standards for the $648 trillion over- the-counter swap market. The standards would apply to direct trades between buyers and sellers instead of derivatives guaranteed by central clearinghouses.

“Look forward to seeing this margin release in the next two or three weeks,” Gensler said today during a speech at an Institute of International Bankers’ conference in New York.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and other U.S. banks have told regulators that differences between countries could hurt their ability to compete with overseas rivals.

To contact the reporter on this story: Silla Brush in Washington at sbrush@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Maura Reynolds at mreynolds34@bloomberg.net