The regulator is becoming more global as it approves rules for all swaps everywhere. 

Those old enough to remember early versions ABC’s Wide World of Sports can well remember Jim McKay’s voice-over intro: “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports!” Following this was McKay’s philosophical summation of all sports: the video clips of one successful athlete popping a cork, “the thrill of victory”, and then the unsuccessful athlete (que horrific ski-jump crash, ugly motorcycle spill), “and the agony of defeat.”

That WWOS intro is long gone but now fans can see the likes of it again with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is now is looking to span the globe with its rules — and there likely will be thrills and agony as the commission implements the rules. On Friday the CFTC voted to propose a “phased compliance program” for certain swaps to non-US swap dealers and non-US major swap participants along with US swap dealers, major swap participants and their foreign branches.

The CFTC is going global – despite the cuts to its budget – likely because the financial system is so interconnected and regulating derivatives everywhere is inevitable. Reaching beyond US borders is the only way the CFTC sees it can successfully police the $460tn market. It also feels some parts of the world, notably London, are soft on derivative rules – and it uses JP Morgan’s London-centered multibillion dollar loss as Exhibit A.

And while the CFTC’s Bart Chilton said the US regulator doesn’t want to be “the boss of you” it will do what needs to protect US consumers.

“We do not seek to be the boss of anyone, we do seek to ensure that our consumers, taxpayers, markets and our economy are protected,” Mr. Chilton said upon release of the new proposals. “I assume other nations not only have this parochial interest as well, but that they will ensure analogous laws that address the matter. If nations do this, as a matter of self-interest and global interest, there should not be any bossing around of anyone—easy peasy.”

But other nations aren’t all that happy with the US or the CFTC. It was CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler who reportedly made remarks implying banks were exploiting London as a “loophole” to get around the rules. This by the way was in addition to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s statement at the end of that same week suggesting President Obama should “first of all take care of reducing the American deficit, which is harder than in the eurozone. People are always very quick at giving others advice.”

While treasurers are likely more focused on prudential regulators killing off their exemption to margining (see related story here), it’s just another reminder that their banks remain under pressure to from new regs. As treasurers know, this will have a big impact on costs of using derivatives, funding and a host of other banking services. So the CFTC gets the thrills, the banks, the agony.