Bill to rein in CFTC's Sef proposals runs into trouble

A bipartisan attempt to clarify the scope of the Dodd-Frank Act – and limit the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s proposals on swap execution facilities – had been making rapid progress, raising hopes that trading platforms would have some certainty on a number of key questions. But a row is now clouding its prospects. Peter Madigan reports

Plenty of people have been willing to accuse the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of going too far when interpreting its responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank Act – but it carries more weight when that person is Barney Frank.

Speaking to Risk, the ranking Democrat member of the House Financial Services Committee – who, along with former senator, Chris Dodd, gave his name to the act – says the CFTC was wrong to propose that users of swap execution facilities (Sefs) should be