U.S. House panel launches bill to rewrite CFTC mandate, boost leeway for smaller derivatives players

U.S. lawmakers on Monday launched a bill to rewrite the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), giving more leeway to smaller players in the derivative markets it oversees. The agency became one of the most prolific reformers of Wall Street after the financial crisis under its previous chairman, Gary Gensler, who was frequently criticised by some in the financial industry for his hard-nosed style and sometimes-hasty adoption of new rules. In a so-called reauthorization bill to fine-tune the CFTC's mandate, the chairman and the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee drew up a list of changes to many of the tough rules the agency has written. "The CFTC's rulemaking process has been less than ideal. The rulemaking process has proven confusing," the four lawmakers launching the bill said in a statement. The bill also directed the CFTC to finish a study into high-frequency trading if it were adopted. The CFTC was a little-watched overseer