Gary Gensler

For the first time, the public will benefit from specific oversight of swap dealers.

Required clearing of interest rate and credit index swaps between financial entities begins next month.

We are in far better shape than we were 2 years ago.

I thank you for inviting me to today's hearing on implementation of Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) swaps market reforms.

This hearing is occurring at an historic time in the markets.

I do, respectfully. Though the litigants raised that issue, the court spoke to a different topic.

We did an interpretation to try to interpret it so that foreign regulators could have access...

The evidence points to the owner, Russ Wasendorf, taking the funds of customers right out of the bank and lying about it for years.

I think the complexity of the topic and the task that Congress gave us; two is we want to get this right and balanced.

I do think we need to get on and try to complete the swaps market reform.

Detection of fraud, combating fraud in the futures industry, has been central to our mission for the last 30 years, and it remains so today.

If it would be helpful, I could just submit a written statement outlining our responses to each of the instances that were noted in the press or here today.

I think that we will never protect that there will not be somebody trying to steal or lie or cheat.

I think that the system can work. I think it does need some enhancements.

I think we need to move the self-regulatory organizations and the CFTC a bit more to risk-based approach.

Customers should have been able to rely on a system of protection that protects them at all times.

I think it is very concerning, and I share the public's view and Senator Harkin's and your view that that should have been looked at and pursued with a phone call to the bank directly or other matters.

I think that the system failed to protect the public on this when you look at the various incidents over the years.

I believe the system failed to protect Peregrine's customers here and that we all must do better, including the CFTC.

I think we are helped out by that because we are ultimately reliant on the public.

We probably do have the authorities.

I think we are underfunded to oversee the futures industry that has grown five-fold since the 1990s.

I thought it was best not to participate.

I informed the General Counsel on a Thursday, so it may have been that Friday.

From my point of view, Congressman, the suggestion that the fraud at Peregrine would have been uncovered more quickly if the examiners had been on the government's payroll instead of our payroll is something that I just don't think has a…