FT: new CFTC swap trade rules

Regulating derivatives was a central piece of the Dodd-Frank financial reforms passed in July as Congress sought to prevent a repeat of AIG, the insurance group bailed out after its sale of credit default swaps to Wall Street banks soured in 2008.

The law made the CFTC the nation’s leading regulator of the $583,000bn over-the-counter derivatives market.

The CFTC said that any company dealing swaps with a gross notional amount of $100m or more, dealing swaps to more than 15 counterparties, or entering into more than 20 swap deals in the course of a year would be considered a swap dealer.