A definition of swaps required by the Dodd-Frank Act and approved by U.S. regulators will bring government scrutiny to a $648 trillion global market that has been largely unchecked since it emerged three decades ago.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities Exchange Commission, the agencies charged with overhauling financial regulation following the 2008 credit crisis, laid out for the first time when interest-rate, credit, commodity and other derivatives will be considered swaps. The designation, approved Tuesday, activates rules to increase collateral requirements and bolster public trading of the products by companies such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Cargill Inc.
