Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Caroline D. Pham issued the following comment on the CFTC’s announced action regarding Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.:  

“It’s bad enough when a government entity takes aggressive administrative action without appropriate due process. In this case, the CFTC went even further by alleging a violation of an Australian law, which the agency is not qualified to interpret and which the local regulators have not pursued. The CFTC is not the world police and should not presume to be experts in other sovereign nations’ affairs. Doing so only serves to erode trust with our global partners.  

“The CFTC’s cross-border rule could not be more clear. Today’s action also fails to comport with the CFTC’s own precedent and longstanding interpretations of our own regulations. The meaning of our rules cannot continuously morph to feed the agency’s voracious enforcement appetite.  

“Make no mistake, today’s action is not business as usual. As regulators, our focus should be on writing and enforcing clear rules to promote integrity and stability in our financial markets in a manner that instills confidence in our mission both at home and abroad. When it comes to catching fraudsters and protecting our markets, the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement is unmatched. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from this core responsibility to the American people.”