House bill on exemption could get mixed up in those that limit derivatives regulation.
The US House of Representatives passed HR 634, the Business Risk Mitigation and Price Stabilization Act of 2013, which would create an exemption for corporate end-users from the derivatives central clearing requirements of Dodd-Frank last month. But although Treasury backs the exemption and it is expected to be eventually confirmed, HR 634 was lumped in with three other bills that the White House and many in the Senate oppose.
These generally limit regulators’ power to enforce Dodd-Frank, especially overseas. According to a summary of the legislation by law firm King & Spalding, these are:
- HR 742, the Swap Data Repository and Clearinghouse Indemnification Correction Act of 2013, which would eliminate an unworkable indemnification requirement in Dodd-Frank that would lead to a balkanized system for storing and accessing swaps data.
- HR 1256, the Swap Jurisdiction Certainty Act, which would clarify the territorial reach of US derivatives regulation by exempting transactions between non-US swap dealers and non-US counterparties.
- HR 1038, Public Power Risk Management Act, would help ensure that public utilities’ ability to hedge their risk and minimize customer costs would not be hindered by CFTC regulation.
Derivatives dealers have applauded the legislation limiting extraterritoriality and, tacitly, so have overseas regulators eager not to see their domestic markets gummed up by Dodd Frank. According to King & Spalding, “The White House has signaled it would veto the legislation and its prospects in the Senate are uncertain.”