By Emily Stephenson
Dec 27 (Reuters) - Two industry trade groups moved on
Thursday to appeal a judge's decision earlier this month
upholding a new regulation for the mutual funds industry, in a
ruling that came as a rare win for the U.S Commodity Futures
Trading Commission.
The Investment Company Institute and the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce said the rule duplicates existing rules enforced by
securities regulators. They said the CFTC did not sufficiently
consider the impact on markets when it wrote its new rule.
"Nothing in the district court's decision changes the fact
that the CFTC did not adequately consider alternative approaches
to its flawed and overly-broad approach," David Hirschmann,
president of the chamber's Center for Capital Markets
Competitiveness, said in a statement.
The mutual funds rule requires advisers to register with the
CFTC if commodity trades, including futures, swaps and options,
exceed certain thresholds. That would trigger record-keeping
requirements, disclosure obligations and other responsibilities.
The groups said the rule is redundant because the Securities
and Exchange Commission already oversees mutual funds. They
filed a lawsuit challenging the rule in April. U.S. District
Judge Beryl Howell, in her ruling on Dec. 12, said the CFTC had
done enough to weigh the costs and benefits of the new rule.
The CFTC declined to comment on the appeal of the decision,
which gave the commission a boost in its struggle with industry
pushback against many of its latest rules. The mutual funds
rule stems from a request by the National Futures Association, a
self-regulatory industry group.
Financial industry groups have succeeded in challenging some
CFTC rules by charging that regulators did not adequately
consider the impact of its rules on markets.
In September, a judge tossed out the CFTC's rule capping
speculative positions in commodities. It was a big win for the
derivatives industry.
Regulators are appealing the decision against the position
limits rule, written to enforce the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial
law aimed at preventing another financial crisis.
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