Boca Briefing - March 12 - SmartBrief

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Boca Briefing – March 12

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Modern Money

Highlights from Day One of the 39th Annual International Futures Industry Conference in Boca Raton, Fla.

Wetjen says CFTC’s spending priorities include spot-checking work of SROs: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission should focus its spending on surveillance, examinations and enforcement, according to acting Chairman Mark Wetjen. Wetjen said part of the CFTC’s examination program should include spot-checks of examines conducted by self-regulatory organizations. Alluding to the situations of MF Global and PFGBest, Wetjen said it wouldn’t hurt to have the CFTC act as “another set of eyes.”

ICE’s Sprecher shares some of motives behind SMX acquisition: IntercontinentalExchange Chairman and CEO Jeff Sprecher said the fall of MF Global was one of the incidents that motivated the ICE to acquire the Singapore Mercantile Exchange. Sprecher said clients in other parts of the world were scared by the notion of their funds being dramatically affected while they were asleep. Sprecher also said poor harmonization on global regulations continues to present challenges for the industry. “A lot of people talk about regulatory arbitrage, but right now our clients are just trying to comply with the law,” Sprecher said.

SGX to roll out RMB FX futures: SGX plans to introduce a new set of Asian currency futures, including Chinese renminbi, Japanese yen and Thai baht in the third quarter. The strong take-up of our FX futures deepens SGX’s unique Asian offering to global investors. We work closely with the market and address their needs by providing a transparent, margin-efficient and well-regulated marketplace to manage their Asian currency risk,” said Magnus Bocker, the CEO of SGX. The exchange also plans to launch SGX FTSE China A50 Index options in the same time-frame.

Eurex expands link with TAIFEX: Eurex is set to list daily futures on Taiwan Futures Exchange futures and options, a move that will extend trading hours for Taiwanese investors and perhaps lure new market participants from Europe and other parts of Asia.

FIA elects board members, outlines progress on global efforts: FIA and FIA Global announced the election of new directors. Walt Lukken, president and CEO of FIA and FIA Global, joined other members of the industry group’s global leadership team to discuss progress on the merger between FIA and FOA. “One of the biggest things around this is that we now have the ability to speak with a single voice. When something is global or something needs a single industry voice, we now have the agreement,” said FOA Chairman Steve Sparke. FOA chief executive Simon Puleston Jones shared his plan to embark on a two-week journey around Europe to collect insight and feedback from members and regulators. FIA Asia executive director Bill Herder detailed plans to add staff throughout Asia.