CFTC Wants Budget Boost, Is Ready to Write Swap Rules

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is requesting a bigger budget as it organizes staff to write new rules governing the $615 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market, Chairman Gary Gensler said.

Congressional legislation, which may be voted on today by the Senate, would give the CFTC new authority over swaps markets that have been explicitly unregulated since 2000. The commission has identified 30 areas where rules will need to be written, Gensler said, according to prepared remarks he is expected to deliver today at a Security Industry and Financial Markets Association conference in New York.