In the face of criticism and political pressure, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) acting chairman, Walt Lukken, told Congress on June 17 that the agency needs more money to properly police the markets and staff new initiatives.
Lukken, who spoke before the Senate Agriculture Committee and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services, told legislators that the agency staff numbers “are near record low numbers”. Since CFTC was created 33 years ago, volumes on US exchanges have grown 8,000% while CFTC’s staffing numbers have fallen 12%. CFTC employed 437 in 2007 and has an estimated staffing goal of 465 this year and 475...