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I am pleased to support the Commission’s proposed rule on limits for speculative positions in futures and derivatives markets.  Today’s proposal is a pragmatic approach that will protect our agricultural, energy, and metals markets from excessive speculation.  But just as importantly, it will ensure fair and easy access to these markets for businesses producing, consuming, and wholesaling commodities under our jurisdiction.

By Heath P. Tarbert @ChairmanHeath

America’s farmers and ranchers are at the heart of our real economy. Yet for the past six years, U.S. agricultural production has faced turbulence. From natural disasters to low commodity prices, farmers and ranchers are forced to spend considerable time thinking about how to mitigate risk and insulate themselves from potential losses. Farm bill programs and crop insurance are an important part of that equation, but so are the derivatives markets.

As chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulatory body that oversees our derivatives markets, I am committed to making sure the agricultural sector can rely on futures prices and effectively hedge risk. That was originally—and always will be—the very cornerstone of the Commodity Exchange Act.

The CFTC’s mission is to promote the integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of the U.S. derivatives markets through sound regulation.  The Commission pursues that mission through rulemaking.  The Commission may promulgate, amend, or repeal rules based on statutory directives, discretionary objectives, or petitions for rulemaking submitted by the public.

 

Washington, D.C. — In recognition of Data Privacy Day, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced it will become the first federal agency to adopt the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Privacy Framework. The framework is a voluntary tool designed to improve privacy through enterprise risk management. The CFTC will integrate the framework into its enterprise risk portfolio and use it to better manage and communicate privacy risk throughout the agency.

 

“I am proud the CFTC is taking the lead by becoming the first federal agency to adopt the NIST Privacy Framework,” said CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert. “Adopting this framework will put us on the cutting edge of data privacy protection.”

 

“Protecting individuals’ privacy is of utmost importance to the CFTC and we are excited to integrate the Privacy Framework into our existing operations,” added CFTC Chief Privacy Officer Charles Cutshall.

...

The CFTC's Whistleblower Program provides monetary incentives to individuals who report possible violations of the Commodity Exchange Act that lead to a successful enforcement action, as well as privacy, confidentiality, and anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers.

By Heath P. Tarbert @ChairmanHeath

America’s farmers and ranchers are at the heart of our real economy. Yet for the past six years, U.S. agricultural production has faced turbulence. From natural disasters to low commodity prices, farmers and ranchers are forced to spend considerable time thinking about how to mitigate risk and insulate themselves from potential losses. Farm bill programs and crop insurance are an important part of that equation, but so are the derivatives markets.

As chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulatory body that oversees our derivatives markets, I am committed to making sure the agricultural sector can rely on futures prices and effectively hedge risk. That was originally—and always will be—the very cornerstone of the Commodity Exchange Act.

Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC, of Huntington, New York, and its CEO, Jerry Szilagyi, for materially misleading statements made by Catalyst and one of its portfolio managers, and for failing to implement an adequate supervisory system to prevent such misstatements.  Separately, the CFTC charged the portfolio manager, Edward Walczak, of Madison, Wisconsin, with fraud in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

 

The order requires Catalyst, a registered commodity pool operator, to pay a $1.3 million civil monetary penalty and $8,908,481 in disgorgement (including pre-judgment interest).  The order also requires Szilagyi to pay a $300,000 civil monetary penalty.  Catalyst and Szilagyi are ordered to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act...

Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Center for Risk Management Education and Research at Kansas State University today announced that registration is open for the third annual Agricultural Commodity Futures Conference (AgCon2020). First held in 2017, the conference is scheduled for April 1-2 in Overland Park, Kansas. Register for AgCon2020 HERE.

Featured panels planned for this year’s conference include discussions on managing risk in the face of disasters; differentiating between manipulative conduct and legitimate market activity; the transition from LIBOR to SOFR and other alternative reference rates; long-term trends in grain and oilseed futures position; and how the landscape change for futures commission merchants is shaping agricultural risk management.

A full AgCon2020 agenda will be available in March.

The conference will coincide with an open meeting of the Commission on March 31, 2020 at the Federal Reserve Bank...

The Commission's whistleblower program was created by the Dodd-Frank Act, and it provides monetary awards to persons who voluntarily report violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) if the information leads the Commission to bring an action, or if the information significantly contributes to the success of a Commission action, that results in more than $1 million in monetary sanctions. The Commission can also pay awards based on monetary sanctions collected by other authorities in actions that are related to a successful CFTC action and are based on information provided by a CFTC whistleblower. The Dodd-Frank whistleblower provisions also prohibit any action taken to impede an individual from communicating directly with the Commission's staff about a possible violation of the CEA, as well as retaliation by employers against employees who come forward with information about possible violations. The CFTC has authority under the CEA to enforce the anti-retaliation provisions...

By Heath P. Tarbert @ChairmanHeath

America’s farmers and ranchers are at the heart of our real economy. Yet for the past six years, U.S. agricultural production has faced turbulence. From natural disasters to low commodity prices, farmers and ranchers are forced to spend considerable time thinking about how to mitigate risk and insulate themselves from potential losses. Farm bill programs and crop insurance are an important part of that equation, but so are the derivatives markets.

As chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulatory body that oversees our derivatives markets, I am committed to making sure the agricultural sector can rely on futures prices and effectively hedge risk. That was originally—and always will be—the very cornerstone of the Commodity Exchange Act.

Maybe you’ve seen the commercials on TV, videos on the Internet, or received something in the mail. They predict economic instability and use graphs of past performance to “prove” gold, silver, or some other precious metal is not only your safest bet but is destined to double or triple in value.

The truth is gold and other precious metals are highly volatile and past performance is not a good predictor of future returns. If sales pitches also include a lot of doom-and-gloom or high-pressure sales tactics, they could be setting you up for fraud.

All that Glitters

Banks and other big investors do buy gold, other precious metals, and commodities like oil, to hedge against inflation and other economic risks. Some investment advisers may even recommend that individual investors put small percentages of their diversified portfolios in precious metals too. But that doesn’t mean that gold or silver or other metals are “safe” places to park your wealth.

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By Heath P. Tarbert @ChairmanHeath

America’s farmers and ranchers are at the heart of our real economy. Yet for the past six years, U.S. agricultural production has faced turbulence. From natural disasters to low commodity prices, farmers and ranchers are forced to spend considerable time thinking about how to mitigate risk and insulate themselves from potential losses. Farm bill programs and crop insurance are an important part of that equation, but so are the derivatives markets.

As chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulatory body that oversees our derivatives markets, I am committed to making sure the agricultural sector can rely on futures prices and effectively hedge risk. That was originally—and always will be—the very cornerstone of the Commodity Exchange Act.