U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made an appeal for greater transparency in trading derivatives contracts in a public appearance on Sunday, according to Financial Times. Geithner’s appeal follows the Securities and Exchange Commissions allegations of fraud at Goldman Sachs, and comes as the Senate prepares to vote on new financial reform legislation that will likely feature tough new derivatives language.
Although he declined to comment on the Goldman Sachs charges, Geithner said that there had been “catastrophic failures in judgment” on Wall Street, and insisted, “All standard derivative contracts must be traded transparently.” In a letter to European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, Geithner urged for the agencies to cooperate in determining which contracts would be routed through central clearing houses and on to electronic exhanges
The bill pending in Congress would force a larger portion of derivatives contracts through that channel, and is expected to earn the necessary support to pass following the latest SEC charges.
