The futures regulator has proposed rules that would increase costs for power companies, airlines and major manufacturers, a consequence Congress told the agency to avoid when it crafted new financial reform measures, a top official said on Thursday.
Scott O'Malia, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, renewed his concern that the agency's proposal defining a swap dealer is too broad and could end up including businesses that use swaps primarily to hedge their risks, pushing costs higher.
In prepared remarks, the Republican commissioner also said the CFTC's plan for exempting end-users -- those who rely on derivatives to guarantee the price and supply of raw materials -- from clearing was too narrow in scope.
"I believe costs for commercial end-users will increase. Congress did not want us to impose increased costs on non-systemically relevant commercial firms and force those firms to decide between hedging risk and investing in their business," O'Malia said
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