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Remarks To The ICI 2015 Securities Law Development Conference, David Grim, Director, SEC Division Of Investment Management, Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2015

Date 16/12/2015

Introduction

Good morning everyone, and thank you, David, for that kind introduction and for inviting me to speak here today. Before I begin, let me remind you that the views I express are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission, any of the Commissioners, or any other colleague on the staff of the Commission. Before I begin, I should mention that I’m joined here today by several of my Investment management colleagues—Diane Blizzard, who will be participating shortly in the “Looking to the Future: What Funds Should Expect in 2016” panel, Aaron Schlaphoff, who will be participating in the derivatives panel, and Sarah ten Siethoff, who will be participating in the fixed income funds panel. We are also joined by several of our colleagues from around the Commission, including Katherine Feld from the Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) and Anthony Kelly from the Commission’s Division of Enforcement.

Statement Of CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad, Final Rule On Margin For Uncleared Swaps

Date 16/12/2015

The rule this Commission is adopting today is one of the most important elements of swaps market regulation set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act. Although we have mandated clearing for standardized swaps, there will always be a large part of the market that is not cleared. This is entirely appropriate, as many swaps are not suitable for central clearing because of limited liquidity or other characteristics. Our clearinghouses will be stronger if we exercise care in what is required to be cleared. However, we must take steps to protect against such activity posing excessive risk to the system. That is why margin requirements for uncleared swaps are important.

ESMA Sees Continued High Levels Of Risk In 2016 Financial Markets

Date 16/12/2015

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued today its Risk Dashboard for the European securities markets covering the third quarter of 2015.

Dissenting Statement Of CFTC Commissioner Sharon Y. Bowen Regarding Final Rule On Margin For Uncleared Swaps

Date 16/12/2015

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I commend the staff, the Chairman, and Commissioner Giancarlo for their work on this final rule. This rule has many benefits for the American public and is an important step towards further girding the financial system. Unfortunately, as compared to our September, 2014 proposal and the rule passed by the prudential regulators, this final rule fails to meet statutory intent and it puts swap dealers we regulate at greater risk in times of financial stress because of its treatment of interaffiliate margin.

Dubai Financial Services Authority: Notice Of Consultation Paper Release

Date 16/12/2015

The DFSA has released the following for Consultation:

Consultation Paper No. 104 – Proposed Miscellaneous Amendments

Statement Of Support Of CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad, Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking DCR System Safeguards Testing

Date 16/12/2015

I strongly support this proposed rule.

The risk of cyberattacks is perhaps the most important single issue we face in terms of financial market stability and integrity.

Federal Reserve Board And Federal Open Market Committee Release Economic Projections From The December 15-16 FOMC Meeting

Date 16/12/2015

The attached table and charts released on Wednesday summarize the economic projections and the target federal funds rate projections made by Federal Open Market Committee participants for the December 15-16 meeting.

Statement Of Support Of CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad, Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking DMO System Safeguards Testing

Date 16/12/2015

I strongly support this proposed rule, which would enhance and clarify requirements to protect exchanges, swap execution facilities and swap data repositories from numerous cybersecurity risks.

Federal Reserve Issues FOMC Statement

Date 16/12/2015

Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in October suggests that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Household spending and business fixed investment have been increasing at solid rates in recent months, and the housing sector has improved further; however, net exports have been soft. A range of recent labor market indicators, including ongoing job gains and declining unemployment, shows further improvement and confirms that underutilization of labor resources has diminished appreciably since early this year. Inflation has continued to run below the Committee's 2 percent longer-run objective, partly reflecting declines in energy prices and in prices of non-energy imports. Market-based measures of inflation compensation remain low; some survey-based measures of longer-term inflation expectations have edged down.

Statement Of CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo Regarding Proposed Rule On System Safeguards Testing Requirements

Date 16/12/2015

In one of our very first conversations over a year and a half ago, Chairman Massad and I discussed the many risks that cyber threats pose to trading markets. We agreed that cyber and overall system security is one of the most important issues facing markets today in terms of trading integrity and financial stability.