The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is preparing to ease restrictions on swaps trading overseas, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that could shift some trading abroad as banks and other firms look for ways to circumvent tough U.S. rules, the Wall Street Journal reported today. CFTC officials are expected to reach an agreement with counterparts in the European Union as early as this week to allow U.S. firms to trade swaps on European platforms as long as those systems are governed by swaps rules that are comparable to those ushered in as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law. Critics say that the agreement will encourage banks to move more swaps trading overseas to escape strict U.S. regulations intended to bring more transparency to the opaque financial products.
