Converted To Reform: The Gary Gensler Story

CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler has a very impressive resume: a Goldman Sachs partner at age 30 and thereafter a Treasury Department big whig helping with de-regulation under Secretary Robert Rubin. Now, however, Gensler is a true believer in regulatory reform. 

Speaking today before the Futures Industry Association’s Annual International Futures Industry Conference in Boca Raton, Gensler strongly reaffirms his current position that re-regulation is necessary. In his prepared remarks, Gensler says, “A comprehensive regulatory framework governing over-the-counter derivatives should apply to all dealers and all derivatives, including interest rate swaps, currency swaps, foreign exchange swaps, commodity swaps, equity swaps, credit default swaps and any new product that might be developed in the future.”
 
An article in today’s Times, “Goldman Deal-Maker Now Advocates Regulation,” by Graham Bowley, also highlights Gensler’s views and is worth reading. It's available at
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/business/11cftc.html?scp=1&sq=gensler&st=cse.