Progress and Problems in Reforming the Swaps Marketplace

John E. Parsons

July 2015

US derivative markets, including commodity derivatives used in industries like energy, are undergoing dramatic reform following the financial crisis. This testimony to the US Congress surveys the current state of progress in implementing the reform. In particular, it identifies the ongoing failure to produce adequate reporting of trades. The problem is especially dramatic for commodity derivatives where the numbers reported by the US Commodities Future Trading Commission are demonstrably meaningless.