CFTC URGED TO STRENGTHEN FOREIGN FUTURES RULES
Several U.S. House members urged
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC, to strengthen
its proposed rules governing the sale of foreign futures and
options in the U.S.
      "I'm from the state of Illinois, and we don't want to see
Chicago's futures markets become the automobile or textile
industry of the 1980s," Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.) told a hearing
of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit
and Rural Development.
      U.S. exchanges have complained that the proposed
regulations would give sellers of foreign futures an edge over
domestic futures sellers because they would be subject to less
rigorous requirements, especially in the area of capital.
      Phillips said the commission has no way of requiring
foreign markets to implement the same regulatory safeguards as
in the U.S., but that the proposed rules would ensure marketing
of foreign futures and options conform to U.S. requirements.
     "If people want to enter into these (foreign) markets,
they know they will not have the same regulations," she said.
      Phillips said the commission would consider changes in
its proposal to require segregation of customer accounts and
clarify the treatment of contracts not traded on foreign
exchanges.
 Reuter
