SEC Approves Rules Requiring Public Reporting of Swap Trades

U.S. regulators are poised to approve rules today that will require most swaps trades to be reported to the public, a response to lax derivatives oversight in the run-up to the financial crisis. The rules up for a vote at the Securities and Exchange Commission will specify what information has to be reported publicly as well as data intended for regulators who surveil the market. The regulations are the latest step in efforts by the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission to increase transparency in the $691 trillion swaps market. The SEC’s rules come more than six years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and government rescue of American International Group Inc. (AIG) that was rooted in part in unregulated swaps. By creating a record of swaps trades, regulators aim to monitor for systemic risk while giving investors a better idea of fair prices. More on Bloomberg here.