The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced for a formal meeting on July 12 to discuss how new rules apply abroad. The new rule, covering the US$630 trillion swaps market, has split the commissin for months.

At this meeting, the commission should come upon a consensus regarding its rules that would apply and affect foreign companies dealing with US firms. This action was seen as a sign that the top US derivatives regulator was nearing a compromise, after months of disagreement, on the issue.

Chairman Gary Gensler insisted that foreign companies should comply with the commissions' rules. On the other hand, Michel Barnier, a leader in EU financial services, stated that the US should take into consideration what other territories are coming up with and fashion their rules accordingly.

Although the new rule aimed to make this lucrative market a safer place to trade in, banks complained that the new rule would be redundant and cumbersome. The swaps market was dominated by banks like JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp., and Citigroup Inc., who feared that without any compromise, would more customers would be lost from their firms.