Scott O'Malia, a Republican who used his position on theCommodity Futures Trading Commission to criticize some of theagency's efforts to rein in the $700 trillion global swaps market,said he will resign next month.
|O'Malia, 46, the longest-serving member of the current CFTCpanel, will step down effective Aug. 8 after more than four yearsat the agency, he said in a letter released today.
|O'Malia is leaving as the CFTC transitions to a new slate ofcommissioners and shifts from writing to enforcing rules put inplace under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.
|“Although I did not support all 63 rules that the commission hasimplemented under Dodd-Frank, I am pleased to have contributed tothe policy deliberations to improve commission rulemakings,”O'Malia said in a resignation letter sent today to President BarackObama.
|O'Malia said he was leaving “to pursue other opportunities”without specifying what those were. He didn't immediately respondto an e-mailed request for comment.
|Agency Chairman Timothy Massad and two additional commissionerswere confirmed by the U.S. Senate last month.
|O'Malia was a frequent critic of the CFTC's rulemaking processunder former chairman Gary Gensler, arguing often that the agencywas sidestepping procedural responsibilities to assess the costsand benefits of regulations.
|In recent speeches, O'Malia criticized the agency's policies anda lack of international coordination that has fragmented the globalmarket. He also has called for a reassessment of the impact of therules on agricultural firms and manufacturers that use swaps tohedge risks.
|O'Malia used his oversight of a technology advisory committee tothe agency to press for improved oversight of data in the swaps andfutures markets traded at CME Group Inc. and IntercontinentalExchange Inc.
|“I have very much appreciated Scott's assistance, advice andfriendship,” Massad said in a statement. “I appreciate hisdedication to the agency, and his leadership in advancingtechnology at the CFTC.”
|Dodd-Frank expanded the agency's powers in an effort to reducerisk and increase transparency after unregulated swaps tradeshelped fuel the 2008 credit crisis. The CFTC regulations aredesigned to have most interest-rate, credit-default and other swapsguaranteed at central clearinghouses and traded on platformsaccessible to money managers and banks.
|The regulations were among the most controversial elements ofthe Dodd-Frank law and spurred lobbying and legal battles againstthe agency by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc.,CME Group Inc. and other financial firms.
|(Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, operates aswap-execution facility regulated by the CFTC.)
|Bloomberg News
|Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.
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