US House Panel Alters Derivatives Bill To Include More Big Cos

Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday agreed to alter a provision in a derivatives bill to ensure that major companies will not be able to evade new regulations.

The changes, approved in a voice vote, were made in response to concerns voiced last week by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Both regulators said they worried the draft bill on derivatives created exemptions that were so wide, it would allow companies such as Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) to circumvent regulations.

House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., offered to change the language in the bill to clarify that major market players that could cause ripple effects in the derivatives markets would still be subject to some requirements to have their routine derivatives cleared by clearinghouses, which guarantee trades.

The bill still needs the committee's full approval, but even then more changes may be made in discussions with the House Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over the CFTC.

-By Sarah N. Lynch, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6634; [e-mail]

(Michael R. Crittenden contributed to this article.)