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Insight: Making Cybersecurity a Priority
SADLY, IT IS MORE COMMON than not to be the victim of a cyber attack. As a former CFTC official, I found out recently that I was one of the four million current and former government officials who had their most personal information compromised by a breach of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management systems. And there have been plenty of similar headlines in the past year: Home Depot, Sony and Anthem just to name a few. Even FIA was the target of a “phishing” incident, requiring us to bolster our cyber defenses.
CONTINUE READINGInsight: Embracing Innovation
THIS SEPTEMBER, with just a few quick taps on a smartphone, an individual purchased £500,000-worth of gold bullion. The transaction took place on an app called BullionVault and more than 46 pounds of gold were transferred from Zurich vaults to the smartphone user. Importantly, it didn’t require a broker, an exchange, a clearinghouse or any of the regulatory apparatus that typically exists for such transactions.
CONTINUE READINGInsight: Oil Prices: A Study in Hedging Against Unpredictable Prices
Watching oil prices crash below $30 a barrel is a sobering lesson in the limits of our ability to predict the future. I was at the helm of the CFTC in 2008 when the price of oil topped $145 a barrel. At the time, certain members of the “Peak Oil” crowd were predicting $200 per barrel by that year’s end. As recently as last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that Brent crude oil prices would average $58 per barrel in 2015 and $75 per barrel in 2016. EIA is now predicting Brent prices will average $38 per barrel in 2016, almost 50% lower than last year’s forecast.
CONTINUE READINGInsight: It Will Forever Be Known as the "Ham Sandwich" Hearing
In April, I appeared as a witness before our industry’s oversight body of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the impact of capital and margin requirements on end-users and our industry. Members of Congress were interested in how capital requirements and in particular the leverage ratio may increase the cost of clearing and reduce access to hedging by mistreating customer margin as bank leverage.
CONTINUE READINGInsight: The Value of Markets, The Power of Innovation
Sometimes the simplest questions we face are the hardest to answer. That thought hit me this summer when I gave a speech to a group of summer interns at an event organized by John Lothian. As I looked out at that room, I reflected on my path through life and I thought to myself: how can I best explain to these young people my passion for these markets and my choice of this industry for my career.
CONTINUE READINGInsight: A New Day in Washington
On Nov. 8, U.S. voters stunned the pundits and elected Donald Trump as the next President and reaffirmed Republican control of both houses of Congress. This outcome means that next year the Republican Party will control all three branches of the U.S. government, which almost certainly will lead to dramatic public policy changes.
CONTINUE READINGInsight: Three Principles for Regulatory Reform
Eight years ago, in response to the financial crisis, the political pendulum justifiably swung in the direction of more regulation. But the unforeseen political events of 2016 may represent the high-water mark for regulatory reform as we see the pendulum swing back the other way.
CONTINUE READINGInsight: FIA's Roadmap to Smarter Regulation and Healthier Markets
We’ve all heard the saying, “Work smarter, not harder.” Nearly a decade since the financial crisis, we are finally getting a chance to put this adage into practice. In May, FIA published our response to President Trump’s call to review U.S. financial reform rules in the form of a whitepaper outlining specific policy recommendations for improving the U.S. regulatory framework.
CONTINUE READINGInsight: Finding Opportunity in Innovation
When Bitcoin first began making headlines a few years ago, I was intrigued, but skeptical that it would grow beyond a narrow fad. The markets seemed to turn more to the development of blockchain, Bitcoin’s underlying distributed ledger technology, for its potential to fix the inefficient plumbing of our financial system. But clearly there is more to the bitcoin story.
CONTINUE READINGInsight: The Dark Side of Innovation
FIA has always been a champion of innovation. Throughout our history we have embraced new ways of doing business that deliver greater efficiency and more convenience for our customers. But innovation can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes new technologies can create new risks.
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