Once again there are a handful of open positions at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). First Jill Sommers, then Gary Gensler and now Bart Chilton are leaving. This agency’s mandate is to regulate commodity futures and options markets in the United States. Unfortunately, it is being run by people who have never traded commodities, run a clearinghouse for commodities or sat on an exchange board.
There is something inherently wrong with this thought process. It would be like me sitting on the medical practices board. Although I am sure that all the people on the CFTC have IRAs and other brokerage accounts, that doesn’t make them experts, just like having health issues doesn’t put me in a position to regulate doctors.
What does this mean when people with so little trading experience run an agency? Simply a replay of the past. Clearinghouses and financial services firms such as Refco, MGF and PFG have collapsed as a result of faulty oversight by the very agency pledged to oversee them. It will happen again.