Over the Counter Derivative

There is an article from Chris Whalen: Over-the-Counter Derivatives: Modernizing Oversight . In the article, Chris states that OTC Banking model provides super-normal return for a few dealers in the market which acts as a heavy tax burdern for other sectors of the real economy. In the economic downturn, the risks of these huge positions undertaken by the few banks and dealers are shared by all taxpayers. The compexity and oqupue of these contracts put all others players in the market an unequal level playing field. OTC Contracts has also been used by corporate executives to make up its short term profit which is essentially fraudulent.

Chris also crtisized Obama and Geinther's recent OTC reform plan, he states:

• Congress should subject all OTC contracts to The Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and instruct the CFTC to begin the systematic review and rule making process to either conform OTC markets to minimum standards of disclosure, collateral and transparency, or require that the contracts be migrated onto organized, bilateral exchanges. It is time for the Congress to right the wrong done over a decade ago to Commissioner Brooksley Born and her colleagues at the CFTC. This wrong was committed in part by the Congress and in part by then-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, among others, who all worked together to effectively block action that would have subjected OTC contracts to the full supervision of the CFTC.[6] ^[8]

• The Congress should admit that it made a mistake in 2000 by blocking CFTC regulation of OTC derivatives. The Congress should take the time to document how and why Greenspan, Rubin and Summers, and others, viciously attacked the reputation and integrity of Chairman Born and other members of the CFTC, and thereby blocked CFTC regulation of OTC derivatives. The actions of Summers, Greenspan and Rubin over a decade ago to block CFTC regulation of OTC derivatives arguably created the circumstances for the collapse of AIG as well as hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars in losses incurred by financial institutions around the world. The Congress and the people of the United States deserve to hear the explanation of Summers, Greenspan and Rubin for the actions they took and did not take in their capacity as public officials subject to congressional oversight. [7] ^[9]

• I agree with the statement by Secretary Geithner last week that how and whether to combine the operations of the CFTC and the SEC is a question that needs more time and consideration than the Obama Administration has allocated for the consideration of reform for the OTC markets in 2009. I urge the Congress to move first on subjecting the OTC markets to CEA, then to take further time for hearings and fact finding to consider what other changes should occur in terms of the law and the operational structure of the SEC and CFTC.

The shadow banking system won't be gone until OTC comes under the sunshine.