Release: #5009-04
For Release: October 18, 2004

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s International Affairs Office Presents International Symposium and Training Program on Derivative Products, Markets, and Financial Intermediaries

Chicago, Illinois – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Office of International Affairs, in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is hosting the 14^th annual meeting of international regulatory and market authorities to discuss issues relevant to the international derivatives markets. The meetings – to be held from October 18 through 22 – at the Federal Reserve Bank, are expected to draw over 70 participants and 40 presenters and panelists from 31 countries, including Australia, the Bahamas, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada (Ontario and Quebec), China, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Ghana, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania, Singapore, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. The group represents 47 different markets and regulators, and also includes participants from the European Central Bank and the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank.

The meetings this week will be followed on October 25 by a separate intensive, technical session to be held at the CFTC’s Chicago regional office, covering the CFTC’s regulatory programs.

Commenting on the program, CFTC Acting Chairman Sharon Brown-Hruska said:

“The CFTC welcomes this opportunity to host the distinguished representatives of regulatory and market authorities from such a broad range of countries to share our regulatory experiences. We all face similar issues resulting from dynamic changes in the structure of the global marketplace. As a result, international cooperation among regulatory and market authorities is critical to providing effective oversight of our respective markets, and it is my firm belief that these meetings will help to promote more effective cooperation.”

Senior CFTC staff, executives from U.S. exchanges and the National Futures Association, and senior representatives from several foreign exchanges and regulatory agencies will engage in discussions and give presentations during the program that address a wide variety of regulatory topics. Several current topics will be addressed from the regulatory perspective, and there will also be presentations from the industry perspective. Topics to be discussed include:

• Cross-Border Markets, Products and Related Oversight
• Supervising Cross-Border and Cross Product Clearing;
• How Regulators Combat Market Abuse;
• Prioritizing Regulatory Risks
• Addressing Scandal;
• Cross-Border Regulation and Access Arrangements;
• Raising Anti-Money Laundering and Cooperation Techniques to International Standards; and
• Risk Management and Use of Derivatives.

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Media Contacts
Alan Sobba
(202) 418-5080
R. David Gary
(202) 418-5085
Office of External Affairs

Staff Contact
Myra Silberstein
Special Counsel
(202) 418-5443
Office of International Affairs