Sources: Extensive regulatory overhaul planned

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Obama administration is proposing an extensive overhaul of financial regulations to increase oversight of such exotic instruments as credit default swaps that have been blamed for contributing to the worst financial crisis to hit the country in seven decades. Officials said Wednesday that the administration will seek to regulate the market for credit default swaps and other types of derivatives and require hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was scheduled to outline the administration's proposals in testimony Thursday before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Administration officials provided details of the plan ahead of the testimony only on condition of anonymity. The program the administration was presenting to Congress will also include a recommendation for creation of a systemic risk regulator, possibly at the Federal Reserve, to monitor risks to the entire system.