Senators want exemption to Dodd-Frank swap rules [View all]

[ProSense]

Senators want exemption to Dodd-Frank swap rules

By Douwe Miedema and Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of 12 senators is seeking to exempt non-financial companies from new rules to make banking safer, breathing new life into efforts to reduce the scope of the Dodd-Frank overhaul of Wall Street.

The plans are squarely at odds with a warning from Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who urged the Republican-controlled House of Representatives this week not to make any changes to the broad law drawn up after the 2007-09 credit meltdown.

"These reforms should not be weakened or repealed," Lew said in a letter to Representative Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, referring to a raft of bills the panel has since adopted.

Now two senators have introduced a proposal to exempt companies using derivatives to protect against losses - and not to speculate on markets - from rules that would require them to pay high safety margins.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08/us-swap-rules-senate-idUSBRE94716P20130508

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Ag Producers, Small Businesses Manage Their Risk

(U.S. SENATE) - U.S. Senators Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) are leading a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing a bill to clarify the exemption for farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and small businesses from margin requirements included in the Dodd-Frank financial legislation. These exempted groups, known as end-users, use derivatives to manage their risk and insure against extreme price fluctuations for commodities and inputs - like seed and fertilizer - critical to their business operations.

Joining Johanns and Tester to introduce the bill are Senators Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.).

The bill introduced by the senators is identical to H.R. 634, which today unanimously passed the House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee. It clarifies current law by making explicit that commercial end-users are not subject to costly margin requirements, consistent with Congress' intent in Dodd-Frank.

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http://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=2889

It's amazing that there is so little focus on the Senate.