In an October 30 speech at FIA Expo 2019 in Chicago, CFTC Chair Heath Tarbert outlined his strategic goals and an action plan for the agency going forward. The Chairman’s strategic goals are:
- Strengthening resilience and integrity of derivatives markets while fostering their vibrancy
- Regulating derivatives markets to the benefit of all Americans
- Encouraging innovation and enhance the regulatory experience for market participants
- Being tough on those who break the rules
- Focusing on CFTC’s unique mission.
Chair Tarbert’s action plan touched on a number of MFA policy priorities, including ending the practice of post-trade name give-up and position limits rules that do not restrict bona fide hedging. On CFTC-SEC harmonization, Chair Tarbert said: “We want to make sure that we’re not duplicating, overlapping regulations. We want to coordinate well with the SEC on a number of fronts. If the SEC is regulating something and has information, then we need to ask ourselves the question, do we need to ask for similar information on a totally different reporting form? So we’re focused on coordinating with the SEC.”
Chair Tarbert also highlighted data security at the CFTC as a priority, saying “We need to think about, as an agency, how we get, how we use, and how we protect data. Under my watch, we’re not going to be taking any source code unless there’s a very specific reason for it and it’s subject to a subpoena. I can assure you of that.”
