Credit Swaps Must Be Regulated Now, SEC's Cox Says

Credit Swaps Must Be Regulated Now, SEC's Cox Says

Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said Congress should ``immediately'' grant authority to regulate credit-default swaps amid concern the bets are fueling the global financial crisis.

``Neither the SEC nor any regulator has authority over the CDS market, even to require minimal disclosure,'' Cox told the Senate Banking Committee today at a hearing on the government's $700 billion financial rescue plan. Lawmakers should provide the authority ``to enhance investor protection and ensure the operation of fair and orderly markets,'' he said.

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“Quick! Now that the cows have left the barn, trampled all the fields, stampeded and killed the kids and kicked over a lantern and started a fire that burned the barn and the entire farm down, give me the power and authority NOW to CLOSE THE BARN DOOR.  Never mind that I whipped the cows into a frenzy and fired gunshots into the air and at their feet.  What matters now is that we close that damn door so this will never happen again!”