Better Markets, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group dedicated to promoting the public interest in financial reform, has called on regulators to reject a huge industry loophole that would gut a key part of the Dodd-Frank law to make the more than $700 trillion derivatives market more transparent and less risky to bailouts. The group wrote to […]
A Citigroup vice chairman has concluded that financial flows – including commodity index funds – distort commodity markets and drive up prices for American consumers and businesses. Peter Orszag, vice chairman of global banking at Citigroup, has written a Bloomberg View column in which he notes that “financial flows (including index funds) can, over brief […]
Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, made the following statement today on the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s approval of a final rule that was supposed to regulate systemically important non-bank institutions: “Today’s meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council lasted less than 10 minutes and makes the Kremlin’s Politburo at the height of […]
Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes the public interest in financial reform, applauded the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for selecting Joe Saluzzi of Themis Trading as a reform voice to an advisory panel on high-frequency trading. Mr. Kelleher praised the CFTC for convening the panel that will […]
In his testimony before a congressional committee today, Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes the public interest in financial reform, demonstrated that rising gas prices are closely related to speculation activity on Wall Street. Drawing on research, he argued that Wall Street has poured hundreds of billions […]
Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, made the following statement today on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s adoption of new customer clearing standards. “In rejecting an anti-competitive industry proposal, the commission’s action today is a victory for financial reform. Transparency, stability and a level playing field are going to benefit Main Street and […]
Statement from Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the SEC-Citigroup settlement case: “The New York Circuit Court’s decision today allowing the SEC to appeal the district court decision was not on the merits. But, in allowing the appeal, the court recognized that it raises major […]
Better Markets, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group dedicated to promoting the public interest in financial reform, today called on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reject a recent request to drag the agency into ongoing legal and political disputes over the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, which is designed to prevent another financial crisis and […]
“Today’s CFTC proposal is a good first step to bring a little more transparency and competition to derivatives trading. But, a lot more has to be done if Wall Street’s chokehold on the derivatives market is going to be broken. The biggest banks’ off-the-books trading in dark markets must end if real financial reform is […]
Better Markets today urged federal regulators to strengthen its proposed Volcker Rule that would ban proprietary trading, arguing that such protections are needed to prevent another financial crisis from occurring again and ending Wall Street bailouts. “The argument for the Volcker Rule is obvious — we shouldn’t allow risky bets that pay enormous bonuses to bankers if […]
The mortgage settlement announced today is another sad example of Wall Street not being held accountable for fraud, perjury, and crimes that created the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. It follows an all-too-common practice of accepting settlements that let banks, their officers and employees off the hook in exchange for a pathetically paltry […]
“This so-called major policy change leaked by the SEC is less than meaningless – it is deceptive,” said Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, a nonprofit group promoting the public interest in the financial markets. “The SEC is trying to suggest that it is going to get tough with securities lawbreakers by changing […]
“Rather than litigating against Wall Street and holding it accountable for misconduct, the SEC has decided to litigate against a federal judge who refused to rubber-stamp their proposed indefensible settlement with Citigroup. After carefully and thoroughly scrutinizing the SEC’s court filings, Judge Rakoff came to the correct conclusion that the settlement was not fair, adequate […]
Responding to recent industry lobbying, Better Markets has urged federal regulators to reject a Wall Street campaign that seeks to delay and derail implementation of the Volcker Rule, which is a key element of financial reform designed to protect taxpayers and the U.S. Treasury from another crisis. In letters to four agencies, Better Markets has […]
The CFTC adopted a very important rule today to ensure customer accounts cannot be looted. But the rule will only be effective if it can be enforced and Congress has refused to provide the CFTC with enough funding to do its job. “Without funding, the CFTC simply does not have enough cops on the beat […]
“The financial industry said many months ago that it would sue to stop any regulation it didn’t like. So, no one should be surprised that Wall Street filed another suit today, this time to prevent anyone from regulating their commodity speculation,” said Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, a nonprofit organization that promotes […]
Better Markets announced today that it has hired the Chief Economist for the Senate Banking Committee, Marc Jarsulic, as its Chief Economist, strengthening the public interest group’s expertise in banking issues as well as oversight of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve. Dr. Jarsulic served until a week ago as Chief Economist for the […]
“Federal Judge Rakoff’s rejection of the SEC’s settlement with Citigroup is welcome news to a public waiting for anyone to hold a Wall Street bank accountable for its fraudulent deals. The specifics of the decision are technical, but what it really means is that the cozy business-as-usual relationship between the SEC and Wall Street might […]
“Not funding the CFTC is like taking the police off the streets in a high-crime area, which is what Wall Street is,” said Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, a nonprofit that promotes the public interest in the financial markets. “They proved that when they caused the 2008 financial collapse. Risky trading in […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission has reversed itself in court filings today in its proposed settlement with Citigroup, and now says it has no obligation to serve the public interest when settling cases. “In its court filings today, the SEC directly contradicts itself and now claims no obligation to serve the public interest when settling […]
Better Markets has gone to court to stop an indefensible settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup that rewards securities fraud and shows crime pays. Using inside information, Citigroup sold worthless toxic securities to its customers in a 2007 deal it designed to fail, which Citigroup secretly bet against with a $500 million […]
Better Markets applauded today the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for taking the first step in curbing excessive commodity speculation, but added that much more needs to be done so American farmers and families will find relief from the grocery aisle to the gas pump. Against relentless Wall Street lobbying, the CFTC adopted a rule […]
Better Markets today released a new research report showing speculative commodity trading pushed by Wall Street is causing market disruptions that have increased prices for American families and farmers. The analysis reviews commodity markets data over the last 27 years and shows that, since 2005, so-called commodity index funds have triggered an upward price curve […]
Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, made the following statement on today’s proposed Volcker Rule, which bans banks from trading from their own accounts rather than for their clients: Wall Street megabanks made lots of reckless billion-dollar bets before the financial crisis in 2008. They did that because big bets mean big bonuses. […]
CFTC RULE LETS BIG BANKS RETAIN CONTROL NEW DERIVATIVE ENTITIES Dennis Kelleher, president and chief executive officer of Better Markets, made the following comments today on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s action on Dodd-Frank rulemaking: The rule adopted today by the CFTC for swaps data repositories (SDRs) is bad for reform, bad for transparency, and […]
BETTER MARKETS OPPOSES TREASURY DECISION TO KEEP SHADOW MARKET FOR FOREX SWAPS Better Markets, a watchdog group promoting the public interest in the capital and commodity markets, expressed disappointment today by the Treasury Department decision exempting foreign exchange swaps and forwards from Dodd-Frank mandates of clearing and exchange trading, noting that it ignores the unprecedented […]
BETTER MARKETS STATEMENT ON SECRETARY GEITHNER SPEECH Dennis Kelleher, president and chief executive officer of Better Markets, gave the following response to Treasury Secretary Geithner’s remarks at the International Monetary Conference: The Treasury secretary is right: preventing another global race to the bottom is essential if we are to avoid another financial meltdown. It is […]
BETTER MARKETS LAUDS FSOC ON ITS FIRST FINAL RULE Dennis Kelleher, president and chief executive officer of Better Markets, praised the Financial Stability Oversight Council release of its first final rule dealing with systemic risk by announcing the way they will designate large payment clearing and settlement companies as systemically important: “In its first final […]
BETTER MARKETS STATEMENT ON FSOC MEETING Dennis Kelleher, Better Markets President and CEO, made the following statement after the Financial Stability Oversight Council met today and issued one final rulemaking: The importance of the Financial Stability Oversight Council cannot be overstated. It alone is responsible for the financial system as a whole and doing everything […]
BETTER MARKETS SAYS “NO LOOPHOLES” IN DODD-FRANK RULES Michael Masters, founder and chairman of the board of Better Markets, participated today in a CFTC/SEC roundtable and called on both agencies to ensure final rules for the $600 trillion derivatives marketplace prevent loopholes that could lead to another financial crisis, placing taxpayers and the public treasury […]
BETTER MARKETS STATEMENT ON CFTC DELAY OF DODD-FRANK RULES Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher made the following statement today on the decision by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to temporarily delay final Dodd-Frank rules: “The CFTC’s announced modest delay to finalize its work on financial reform rules is thoughtful and appropriate. The CFTC […]
BETTER MARKETS CALLS ON TOUGH CAPITAL STANDARDS FOR NONBANKS Better Markets appreciates the proposal the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued today that would bring new transparency to capital standards for swap dealers and major swap participants – such as energy firms, agricultural companies, high-frequency traders and hedge funds. These standards would help prevent a default […]
BETTER MARKETS LAUDS ANTI-MANIPULATION RULE Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher made the following statement today on the CFTC’s adoption of its anti-manipulation rule: “The CFTC provided good news today for investors and the financial markets by adopting a strong anti-manipulation rule, rejecting industry attempts to gut it. The agency also rejected proposed limitations […]
BETTER MARKETS STATEMENT ON BASEL COMMITTEE DECISION Better Markets President and CEO Dennis Kelleher made the following comment today after the decision by the Basel Committee to impose additional surcharges on large banks: The new Basel capital standards are better than they were before, but they simply aren’t enough. It must be remembered that the […]
CFTC ACTS TO HELP PREVENT ANOTHER FINANCIAL CRISIS The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today adopted two proposed rules establishing phased-in effective dates for financial reforms. The rules relate to documentation, margining, mandatory clearing and trading. The rules are expected to be finalized in the coming month and their future effective dates will vary based on […]
CFTC PUTS WHISTLEBLOWERS TO WORK TO PROTECT AMERICAN TAXPAYERS Dennis Kelleher, president and chief executive officer of Better Markets, made the following comments today on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s action on Dodd-Frank rulemaking: The CFTC adopted three rules today but none were more important than those that reward whistleblowers. With budgets being cut and […]
Better Markets called today for the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide more rigorous oversight of the troubled credit-rating industry. “The SEC needs to use its new authority under Dodd-Frank to require these firms to impose tough internal controls and rid themselves of conflicts of interest that helped drive the U.S. economy to near collapse,” […]
Better Markets, a watchdog group promoting the public interest in the capital and commodity markets, has urged federal regulators to curb commodities speculation so American families and businesses will stop being gouged at the gas pump and checkout lane by Wall Street. The nonpartisan group filed a comment letter Monday with the Commodity Futures Trading […]
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