SEC and CFTC release joint report on May 6 market volatility
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released a joint report on Friday outlining their findings respecting the extreme market volatility of May 6, 2010. According to the report, the rapid execution of an automated sell program concerning a large number of futures contracts by a large fundamental trader during a time of high volatility and thinning liquidity was a main contributor to the day's events. The selling pressure from the automated sell program helped cause a liquidity crisis in the contracts and in individual securities.
Meanwhile, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler stated yesterday that a joint committee of the CFTC and SEC has been asked to consider the report and make recommendations. Mr. Gensler specifically mentioned that he expects to hear recommendations with respect to: (i) requiring executing brokers to have an obligation to enter and exit in an orderly manner; (ii) increasing visibility into the full order book, either in aggregate or in detail; and (iii) potential revisions to market pauses, either for single exchanges or for cross-market circuit breakers.
The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada released its review of the day's market volatility last month.
