February 3, 2022
At the end of August, 2021, the CFTC announced that it would postpone the deadline for meeting financial reporting requirements related to swaps. I consider this a dereliction of their duty to protect retail investors, many of whom have recently become aware of the role that swaps play in allowing industry players to sustain naked short positions in a basket of so-called \"meme stocks.\"
Since the CFTC is not interested in gathering the data needed to protect retail investors from predatory short sellers, I would implore the SEC to do everything in their power to step up their own regulation efforts regarding security-based swaps. The proposed rules are a good step in the right direction.
Swaps played a significant role in the financial crisis of 2008, and so the lack of transparency in this section of the market, over 13 years later, is remarkable and disheartening. Fraud is not sustainable over time, and if cheaters are not caught and shut down, another 2008 crash, or worse, another 1937 crash, is inevitable.
The value of the dollar is based on the trust of countries around the world in the Fed and the American market system, and yet the finance industry and their so-called self regulatory organizations easily hide their corruption behind fancy jargon, complex accounting, and lax reporting requirements. How can anyone trust American markets, when it is so easy for those in power to cheat? And what will it mean for the American economy and standing in the world if/when these swaps implode?
I therefore believe that increasing transparency in the American finance industry is a matter of national security, and I urge the Commission to adopt any measure, such as the proposed rules, that seeks to bring light to the dark corners of the market.