Prepared Remarks of Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo at Press Conference to Announce Comparability Determination on EU Margin Requirements and a Common Approach on Trading Venues

October 13, 2017

Today marks a significant milestone in cross border harmonization between the European Commission and the CFTC. First, I am pleased to announce that we have agreed to a common approach regarding derivatives trading platform equivalence. It will ensure that European firms and U.S. firms can trade on each other’s registered derivatives platforms.

Second, the European Commission has adopted an equivalence decision for the CFTC’s margin framework for uncleared derivatives. At the same time, the CFTC has issued a decision today concluding that the EU margin rules are comparable to the CFTC rules. This means EU firms may rely on substituted compliance with EU margin rules to meet CFTC requirements.

These cross-border measures will provide certainty to market participants. It will ensure that our global markets are not stifled by fragmentation, inefficiencies, and higher costs. Indeed these measures are critical to maintaining the integrity of our swaps markets.

I would like to thank Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and his staff for working closely with us at the CFTC in reaching these achievements. I am a firm believer that by working together with my regulatory counterparts across the globe, in a cooperative spirit, we can strengthen our economies while keeping our financial system resilient and stable. And today represents the results of the productive work we did together over the past year.

I would also like to thank staff here at the CFTC for their hard work, specifically the staff in the Division of Market Oversight, Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight and the Office of International Affairs.

I look forward to continuing to work with Vice President Dombrovskis in a cooperative manner to make further progress in harmonizing our regulatory frameworks.

Last Updated: October 13, 2017