OTC Bill Clears Another Hurdle

Following the House Financial Services Committee’s approval of its version of proposed legislation to reform regulation of the OTC derivatives market on October 16, 2009, the House Agriculture Committee unanimously approved its own version of the bill on October 21, 2009.  The two committees will now work together to reconcile any differences between the two versions before moving forward.  Among other things, the bill would require standardized derivatives to be cleared through central clearinghouses and traded on an exchange or other regulated platform, subject to rules set by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. This is an important development on the road to increased transparency in a previously murky marketplace.  Click here to view the House Financial Services Committee version of the bill.  Click here to view the House Agriculture Committee version.