Release: 4902-04
For Release: March 17, 2004

CFTC HOSTS INTERNATIONAL FUTURES
REGULATORS MEETING

Boca Raton, Florida – Financial services regulators from Australia, Canada (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec), China, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States met on March 17, 2004, at the International Regulators Meeting, hosted annually by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

This year’s meeting theme was: International Regulatory Approaches to Governance and Self-Governance of Organized Markets.

Panel discussions chaired by senior foreign regulators, central bank representatives, and representatives from academia addressed issues related to regulatory approaches to governance and self-governance, as well as governance and cross-ownership arrangements in linked markets. The program included an Oxford Style debate on whether organized derivatives and equities markets can effectively regulate and police themselves as currently structured and governed, and a group discussion identifying approaches to particular risks of inappropriate models of governance.

In commenting on the meeting, James E. Newsome, Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said:

I am a firm believer in the benefits of establishing positive working relationships among international regulators. Meetings such as this go a long way toward promoting a culture of cooperation in an increasingly global marketplace.

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