WASHINGTON – “Comprehensive regulation” of the huge over-the-counter (OTC) derivative markets, announced as part of the Obama Administration’s wider, June 17, financial regulatory reform in the US, contains few elements that were not already flagged in the package of measures announced by the Treasury a month earlier. The main new element is the details of how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are going to share responsibility for regulating the OTC derivatives market. It had already become clear that the CFTC had succeeded in its rearguard action to block the much-canvassed merger of the two regulators.

BRUSSELS – The dying days of the present European Commission are set to witness a wave of fresh moves to tighten and extend the regulation of EU banks and other financial firms. Most of the proposals now in preparation will mirror, broadly, those under way in international institutions, notably the Basel Committee, which sets prudential standards for banks around the world. But, in some cases, the European Commission is considering going further.

TOKYO – Japan’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) is putting in train several medium-term reforms to beef up its regulatory framework, in parallel with moves in the US, Europe and elsewhere.

MONTREUX – A top Swiss regulator has frankly admitted that he and regulators elsewhere intend to use the current “window of opportunity” to achieve the “things that we believe need to be pushed through,” while the finance industry is relatively weak and least able to resist. The admission came from Daniel Zuberbühler, vice-chairman of the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA), addressing the annual meeting of the International Capital Markets Association, a self-regulatory organisation, in Montreux, Switzerland.

BRUSSELS – A major worry for Europe’s commodity traders – that they could be hit by punitive capital charges designed for banks – hasn’t gone away with the postponement to 2014 of a decision on whether to continue with key exemptions currently favouring commodity firms.

LECCE, Italy - The Group of Eight leading economic powers will look at ways of improving the functioning of global commodity markets because excess commodity price volatility poses risks to economic growth, G8 finance ministers agreed at their early June meeting in Lecce, Italy.

WASHINGTON, June 17 (Global Risk Regulator) – US President Barack Obama’s administration reiterated its support yesterday for the various international efforts underway to improve the regulation of the global financial system in the wake of the worldwide financial crisis.

LECCE, Italy, June 15 (Global Risk Regulator) – No progress was made on financial regulation at the Group of Eight (G8) finance ministers’ meeting at the weekend. Europe is divided on publishing bank stress tests and the UK and the US were left moving swiftly at the end of the meeting to try to rein in the idea that economic recovery may soon be assured, Reuters news agency reports.

LONDON, June 11 (Global Risk Regulator) – A round-up of recent international regulatory news follows:

WASHINGTON, June 5 (Global Risk Regulator) – As European finance ministers prepare to endorse sweeping reforms of financial supervision next week, US lawmakers are convinced US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner won’t push to merge the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to news agency reports.