CFTC’s Pham announces end to ‘regulation by enforcement,’ consolidates task forces
By 
Aaron Nicodemus2025-02-05T17:24:00
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) enforcement division will end the practice of “regulation by enforcement,” according to Acting Chair Caroline Pham.
Pham, a former compliance officer in the financial services industry who was named to lead the CFTC by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, announced Tuesday the reorganization and consolidation of task forces under the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement. As a Republican, Pham has long been critical of what she called the agency’s practice of “regulation by enforcement” under the Democratic leadership.
After the CFTC fined Goldman Sachs $5.5 million in August 2023 for recordkeeping failures, Pham called the enforcement action “wrong” and “fundamentally unfair, unjust,” in a dissenting statement.
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT
You are not logged in and do not have access to members-only content.
If you are already a registered user or a member, SIGN IN now.
Related articles
-
ArticleCFTC clears deck of ‘compliance’ enforcement actions to focus on fraud
BNY, Citigroup, Santander, UBS, and two other financial institutions paid a total of $8.3M to settle separate compliance violations with the CFTC.
-
News BriefPham cries CFTC overreach against compliance officer in $48M fine of TOTSA
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission fined TOTSA TotalEnergies Trading $48 million for allegedly engaging in price manipulation, with Commissioner Carolyn Pham defending a compliance officer at the Swiss energy company accused of making false statements.
-
Premium’Bait-and-switch’: Pham critical of CFTC self-reporting policy
Caroline Pham, a commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, criticized the agency’s policy on credit for self-reporting violations as a “bait-and-switch.”
More from Regulatory Policy
-
ArticleCompliance must focus on corruption as EU and U.K. seek to tackle rising risks
Corruption isn’t something that happens somewhere else, in other countries and committed by other people. Nowhere is corruption-proof, and new rules being introduced in the EU and the U.K. aim to focus compliance officers on the full gamut of risks in all jurisdictions and every sector.
-
ArticleEmployment law in the age of AI: Compliance considerations
Employment law in the age of AI is evolving faster than many companies can keep pace. As more states enact AI laws and as more case law piles on, chief compliance officers and in-house counsel must ensure that compliance policies and procedures evolve as AI legal and compliance risks evolve.
-
ArticleCompliance must future-proof AI projects to meet evolving regulations
AI implementations are surging, but many new systems are being abandoned after companies have invested in expensive projects. Now evolving AI regulation is adding to the list of reasons why new systems may fail. Compliance must watch emerging regulatory developments and ensure that any new AI tools are capable of ...