Although there has been considerable speculation about whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will be merged with the SEC, the proposed new head of the CFTC, Gary Gensler (pictured), has told lawmakers he isn’t committed to such a merger. Bloomberg reports that Gensler made the comments in a written response to questions from Senator Carl Levin. Gensler’s letter has not yet been made public.
Gregory Mocek, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery and the former director of enforcement for the CFTC, told Bloomberg that the prospect of a merger “probably has made some members in Congress nervous about losing their respective jurisdiction…. America should know that merging the two regulators will not cure the underlying causes of the financial crisis.”
Gensler’s letter reportedly states that he does not support combining the CFTC and SEC just for the sake of merging.
