We want to find solutions that serve the public interest. The CFTC will hold at least one public hearing on this proposal in order to get as much input as possible from markets and participants. But we also recognize that time is not our ally. In spite of the difficulty of developing answers to questions of regulatory architecture, we must work together expeditiously to reach conclusions suitable for these markets and the public interest. The U.S. futures industry must embrace technology without reservation to build stronger markets if they expect to remain competitive.
Flexibility is the hallmark of the new framework.
Under this proposal, multilateral trade execution facilities would operate in one of three categories, taking into account the nature of the underlying commodities and the sophistication of customers. While the framework invites change, it does not impose it on established futures exchanges. Existing exchanges operating as contract markets may reorganize under the terms of the framework, but they are not compelled to do so. So these markets would include the current futures markets trading contracts on physical commodities. Because these markets trade products that may have a greater susceptibility to price manipulation and because the presence of non-institutional traders participating here raise deeper concerns for customer protection, RFEs would be subject to a higher level of Commission oversight than markets in either of the other two categories.