Derivatives Regulation: Outlook for 2011

Last year promised to be an important year for derivatives reform, and it was. U.S. lawmakers responded to the financial crisis by passing the Dodd-Frank Act into law in July. Title VII of the Act focuses almost exclusively on regulating the over-the-counter derivatives markets, with broad aims including central clearing, real-time reporting, position limits and capital and margin requirements. Twin agencies, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, are given the task of writing rules to implement those goals.