Last year, Better Markets called on the CFTC to end an unfair anti-competitive and anti-market practice in the derivatives markets known as “post-trade name give-up.” In late June, the CFTC proposed to prohibit this practice once and for all. 

Joseph Cisewski, Senior Derivatives Consultant and Special Counsel with Better Markets, says that while the release is far from perfect, Better Markets is glad to see the CFTC standing up for Main Street and using its regulatory authority to protect small firms from the market power of massive trading houses.

“We commend the CFTC for partially heeding our call for an end to the anti-competitive and anti-market trading practice,” he says. “This legacy practice serves no legitimate purpose and is merely one of many mechanisms used by Wall Street’s largest derivatives dealers to limit competition and control access to liquidity in the Dodd-Frank Act’s new swaps trading venues, swap execution facilities as we detailed in our comment letter supporting the CFTC’s proposal.  

He notes that the victory is ‘partial’ because intense bank lobbying resulted in the CFTC finalizing an expansive exception from the prohibition for certain so-called ‘package’ transactions.

“We can only hope that the CFTC monitors the scope of the package transactions loophole, fairly assesses the market benefits of the prohibition in the required CFTC staff study next year, and takes corrective action as undoubtedly will be necessary to give proper effect to the prohibition and protect competition in the markets.”