US, EU regulators reach agreement to coordinate oversight of $700 trillion derivatives market

July 11, 2013 at 1:35PM

WASHINGTON — U.S. and European regulators have struck an agreement that seeks to coordinate rules overseeing the nearly $700 trillion derivatives market while potentially limiting the reach of U.S. authorities.

The deal announced between the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the European Commission Thursday would delay a contentious proposal for nearly a year that would have given the CFTC power to regulate the trading of derivatives overseas.

The CFTC will vote Friday on the proposal, at which time they are expected to formally postpone it. European officials had objected to the proposal, which was a response to the 2008 financial crisis.

Derivatives are investments whose value is based on some other investment, such as oil or currencies. The market was largely unregulated around the globe before the crisis.

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