CME Group released the following statement on President-Elect Barack Obama's nominees Gary Gensler, for chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and Mary Schapiro, for chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC):
"We congratulate Mr. Gensler and Ms. Schapiro and support their nominations. Mr. Gensler's experience and understanding of commodity and financial markets, as well as his roles as Undersecretary of the Treasury and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, make him an excellent candidate to oversee the futures markets.
We operate in a highly functional regulatory framework that was greatly enhanced by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. Our markets have functioned extremely well during these difficult market conditions by providing full transparency of all trading activity and market prices, deep liquidity that allows investors to continue their hedging and risk management activities, and by continuing to ensure the performance of all contracts between buyers and sellers that trade on our exchanges. CME Group has never experienced a default in more than 110 years and no customer has ever lost money as a result of a clearing member default.
With Ms. Schapiro's experience at both CFTC and SEC, she will help ensure effective coordination between the two agencies. Her thorough knowledge of the securities and futures industries will allow her to provide guidance and oversight to these diverse markets. When confirmed, we look forward to working with them both in their new roles."
