WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - Large clearinghouses and other utilities that handle trillions of dollars in financial transactions face heightened scrutiny as U.S. regulators on Wednesday plan to set tough new rules on them to safeguard the financial system from destabilizing shocks.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, which was set up to monitor risks in the financial system, labeled the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc, the Depository Trust Company and six other firms as "systemically important" - a term that will give them valuable government backstops, as well as being under a more watchful eye.
"These critical market infrastructures will be subject to heightened risk management standards," Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said after the council voted to designate the firms.
The announcement heralded the council's first concrete action since it was established in the summer of 2010 and comes as other financial scandals have shaken investor confidence, including the revelation
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