Capital One oil swaps waiver could haunt CFTC

Oil price collapse raises fresh questions about regulator’s justification for offering relief

When US crude oil prices fell below zero for the first time ever on April 20, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s regulatory regime was bound to be tested as never before. But one potential problem is largely of the agency’s own making.

On March 20, the CFTC granted an undisclosed bank, later revealed to be Capital One, a special waiver from registering under its major swap participant (MSP) regime, which kicks in if current uncollateralised swap exposures top $1 billion, or $2 billion