CFTC Commissioner Urges Regulators Not to Sacrifice Stability in Pursuit of Growth

In parting remarks, CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero urged the current Administration to take care not to undermine reforms that have strengthened market resilience as it pursues a deregulatory agenda in the name of growth. 

Speaking at the Brookings Institution, Ms. Goldsmith Romero argued that growth and financial stability "are not mutually exclusive goals. Regulators should promote both." She emphasized that "growth requires a regulatory environment where markets are financially stable and resilient during times of volatility, uncertainty, and stress."

She urged regulators not to "remove the load-bearing resilience built into markets—resilience that has resulted in financial stability and protected our economy." 

Further, she warned against "big swings between more regulation and deregulation with each change of party in the White House," arguing that such swings lead to uncertainty in markets. She acknowledged the political difficulty but urged "independent regulators [to] engag[e] with each other on a bipartisan basis and ... with many stakeholders who use and need U.S. markets."