Lobbyists Swarm the CFTC to Shape New Derivatives Regulations – Bloomberg

As regulators sort out how the new derivatives rules will function after the passage of the historic finance reform bill, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is under siege from Wall Street lobbyists whose firms are looking to be exempt from the new law, Bloomberg News reports.

Since the CFTC has been given authority from Congress to oversee the $615 trillion market for over-the-counter derivatives, Bloomberg reports that the once "sleepy little agency" has become arguably the hottest lobbying spot in Washington.

From Bloomberg:

Hedge funds have lobbied the CFTC to be excluded from categories that entail increased scrutiny and higher capital requirements. Airlines and manufacturers who use derivatives to hedge their commodity costs, as well as the dealers who arrange the hedges, want an exemption from having to post cash margin on their trades. Wall Street banks have sought to avoid caps on the number of derivatives a trader can hold.

"The number of people that have come in requesting to be exempt from the law, or to have the law delayed has literally shocked me," said Bart Chilton, 50, a Democrat who has served as one the agency's five commissioners since 2007. "A lot of folks are having problems coming to grips with the fact that they do have a new law, and will have to change their business models."