Opening Statement, Open Meeting on First Series of Proposed Rules Under the Dodd-Frank Act

Chairman Gary Gensler

October 1, 2010

Good morning. This meeting will come to order. This is a public meeting of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to consider issuance of:

• an interim final rule relating to the time frame for reporting pre-enactment unexpired swaps to a swap data repository or to the CFTC;
• proposed rules that would prescribe certain financial resource standards for derivatives clearing organizations including derivatives clearing organizations designated as systemically important by the Financial Stability Oversight Council under Title VIII of the Dodd-Frank Act; and
• proposed rules specifying requirements for derivatives clearing organizations, designated contract markets and swap execution facilities on governance arrangements and mitigation of conflicts of interest.

This is the first public meeting we have had to consider rulemakings under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The next meeting will be on October 19. We anticipate continuing to have meetings through the fall approximately on a weekly basis. We will notice the specific subjects and dates in the Federal Register as we go along.

Before we hear from the staff, I’d like to thank my fellow Commissioners for all their hard work on the Dodd-Frank Act and all of our existing authorities. I’d also like to welcome members of the public, market participants and members of the media to today’s meeting, as well as welcome those listening to the meeting on the phone or watching the live webcast.

I would like to thank the staff for all of the work that they have put into drafting the three rulemakings we are considering today. The staff worked countless hours, consulting with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve and other regulatory agencies and hearing from the public. I thank them for their thoughtful recommendation for how the Commission can best comply with its statutory obligations under the Dodd-Frank Act.

The rules we are considering today are just the first step on a long path. Two of the rules are proposals, and we look forward to receiving public comment. The clearinghouse rules that we are considering today are but the first of at least several additional rules that staff with recommend in the fall. With regard to the interim final rule on swap data repositories, staff will come back later in the fall with proposals as appropriate at that time.

We have organized our rule-writing effort around 30 teams that have been actively at work. I look forward to reviewing additional recommendations from our other teams in the coming months.

Before we turn to staff presentations, would any of my fellow commissioners like to make opening statements?

Last Updated: October 1, 2010