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Karl D. Cooper Becomes New CRO of NYSE LIFFE
Karl D. Cooper has been appointed chief regulatory officer for NYSE LIFFE, the futures exchange of NYSE Euronext. Cooper, previously global head of prime services compliance for Barclays Capital, will report to Richard Ketchum, CEO of NYSE Regulation, Inc.
Cooper's experience as a government regulator (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and as a regulatory executive at the investment bank Barclays Capital gives him a unique view of the markets, according to Cooper. "My experience as a former government regulator and as an investment bank compliance officer has given me familiarity with a lot of the issues we are going to face at the exchange," he says. "What is different — and at the same time challenging and fun — is that I am looking at many of the same issues that I followed throughout my career from the point of view of being at the exchange."
As CRO, maintaining and strengthening the exchanges reputation is a primary responsibility, according to Cooper. One of the first goals is to help establish a strong SRO culture," he says. "That will give our customers confidence in the integrity of the exchange."
One new set of regulations that Cooper is tracking are Secretary of the Treasury's Henry Paulson's proposals for regulatory financial modernization. "We're watching Secretary Paulson's blueprint for financial market modernization, which is aimed at breaking down regulatory silos," he says. "As the reforms go forward, the exchange will be better able to serve our customers with new services, such as cross asset class arbitrage opportunities."
And the new regulations may also pose his greatest challenge. "The biggest challenge for is going to meet the regulatory needs of the NYSE LIFFE and to stay abreast of the changes that are coming, such as the treasury's modernization blueprint," Cooper says.
Greg MacSweeney is editorial director of InformationWeek Financial Services, whose brands include Wall Street & Technology, Bank Systems & Technology, Advanced Trading, and Insurance & Technology. View Full Bio