Statement Of CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo On The Comparability Determination For Japan: Margin Requirements For Uncleared Swaps For Swap Dealers And Major Swap Participants

When the Commission issued its rule addressing the cross-border application of margin requirements for uncleared swaps in May of this year¹ I expressed my disagreement with the approach the Commission established as overly complex and unduly narrow.² I also expressed my concern that the Commission’s “element-by-element” methodology for determining when substituted compliance with a foreign regulator’s margin regime would be permitted is contrary to the principles-based, holistic analysis the Commission has used in the past in certain circumstances³ and could result in an impracticable patchwork of U.S. and foreign regulations for cross-border transactions.⁴