REMARKS BY CFTC COMMISSIONER BART CHILTON TO INTERNATIONAL REGULATORS CONFERENCE

FROM:  COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 
"Understood and Understanding"

Remarks of Commissioner Bart Chilton before the International Regulators Conference (Chicago, Illinois)

October 25, 2013

Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be with you, international regulators, here at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Thanks to Myra Silberstein for all of her work on this conference. Thanks also to the Federal Reserve staff who picked up the ball on the conference when the CFTC had to stop operations due to our government shutdown. And thanks to each of you for making the journey to the States.

The efforts that we are all part of, to ensure that we never again experience an economic calamity like we witnessed in 2008, is not only worthy but imperative.

I view what we all do in the next few years to really set the global regulatory rules for the financial sector for a generation. What we do now, will provide the rules of the road and the guidance for the next 20 to 30 years.

In order to get there we need to work together, to learn from each other and to build appropriate regulatory systems that make sense.

There is a movie that starred actor Kevin Costner. It’s called, “Field of Dreams.” In it, a voice from the Iowa corn field whispers, “If you build it, he will come.” The voice was talking about Shoeless Joe Jackson of the Chicago White Sox.

Well, if we build global regulatory regimes, others will come. We start here in the US and in the European Union and in your countries, and the entire world will come.

That’s why meetings like this are so very important, so that we can listen and learn from each other. We need not just to be understood, but even more importantly, to be understanding what others are saying. That’s our challenge. If we do it correctly, markets will be better and citizens will be protected.

Thanks for being here.

CFTC COMMISSIONER CHILTON'S ASSESSMENT OF LOOMING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

FROM:  COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 
Boom, Boom, Out Go the Lights

Statement of CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton

September 20, 2013

On September 30th, at the stroke of midnight, our country will face a government shutdown unless a continuing resolution to fund it is adopted.  That would be grave news for consumers.

Under a shutdown scenario, government regulators will be handcuffed in our ability to go after crooks who are trying to evade our oversight and protection of markets.  You can bet the “do-badders” are licking their chops.

The dark markets that Dodd-Frank brought into the light of day will go dark again.  The lights will go out.  Given the huge growth in the derivatives industry and our new oversight of swaps, CFTC’s market oversight functions are more important than ever.  Taking our cops off the beat for even a few days could have disastrous impacts on these markets that consumers depend upon.

In the longer term, I remain concerned about the stagnant budgetary circumstances and am convinced that a targeted transaction fee on trading, like the one the President has proposed to Congress, is needed to fund the agency and keep the markets safe.  But for now, let’s avoid a “Boom, Boom, Out Go the Lights” debacle, and hope a deal can be reached to keep the lights on.