The new certifications are another challenge facing Chairman Wetjen. Either he can go full-speed ahead with these rules risking trading problems that are disruptive to the market; or he can risk criticism by throttling back regulation (in the interest of market safety) by taking market comment on the guidance.

Even if one believes that mandatory SEF trading is of some value in price discovery, it almost certainly does nothing to make the economy safer (see, ). Accordingly, there…

Since the day that the CFTC issued its cross-border guidance, we have stated our belief that the guidance was issued in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. (See relevant Cadwalader commentary dated July 18, 2013 and July 12, 2013.)

If the CFTC loses this case, it could be forced to return to square one in establishing its regulations relating to swaps since it will be required to reconsider the costs and benefits of many of its most significant adopted rules.…

The comment by the Chairman of the CFTC that a "jump ball" provides an argument for more regulation is indicative of a regulatory "philosophy" that is exactly backwards; if the CFTC cannot make a solid case as to why regulation is beneficial, then it should not regulate. The notion that the government adopts a rule (particularly a complicated and expensive one) because there is a 50% chance that the rule will do less harm than good is so strange as to be eccentric. That the Chairman who has…

Commissioner Chilton's assertion that global investors will find the U.S. regulatory system attractive is one that should be subject to empirical confirmation. The CFTC should commission a survey of non-U.S. investors to learn how they view U.S. financial regulation. Given the amount of money being spent on new regulations that are supposedly attractive to non-U.S. customers, a survey would help determine what they really think.