CFTC Commissioner Bowen Describes "Four Disruptive Elements" Driving Regulatory Activity

CFTC Commissioner Sharon Y. Bowen identified "four disruptive elements" that are "substantially responsible" for recent regulatory activity: technology, demographics, economics and institutions. In a speech at Northwestern University as part of the 2017 Brodsky Family Northwestern JD-MBA Lecture Series, Commissioner Bowen described these "disruptive elements."

• Institutions. Commissioner Bowen contended that the United States is experiencing a "crisis in our institutions, and that is a crisis for our markets, for our government, and for our society." In order to "increase trust in institutions," Commissioner Bowen stated, the CFTC must be "willing to be more aggressive in enforcing our rules fairly, including being willing to take individuals and institutions to court rather than just settle with them." She asserted that the CFTC should fulfill the Dodd Frank Act requirement to "promulgate a regulation to improve governance" and "rebuild faith in institutions."