Banks’ Stakes in Derivatives Exchanges at Issue

Federal regulators on Wednesday proposed to cap the stake that banks and other market players can own in exchanges where the complex investments blamed for hastening the financial crisis are traded. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to seek public comment on the proposed rules, which are designed to prevent conflicts of interest in the [...]

Wall Street’s Control Over Derivative Exchanges

The financial reform bill seeks to curb Wall Street’s taste for derivatives by moving most swap trading to regulated clearinghouses. Yet a provision quietly dropped from the legislation last week could cement big banks’ control over the very exchanges that are intended to make the capital markets safer. Under pressure from the financial industry, lawmakers [...]