ET Phone Home…There have been many jokes, quips and witticisms about the unfortunately named extraterritoriality (ET) issues related to OTC derivatives rules in the US.

Some have even been funny.

But not everyone is smiling about ET, as this story by Dow Jones/The Wall Street Journal points out:

“European Union and U.K. regulators urged the U.S. to delay new rules for swaps contracts and reconsider how they apply to foreign banks and transactions.  The complaints add to a chorus of concerns, including from Japanese, French and Swiss regulators, that the U.S. is overstepping its jurisdiction.”

What, exactly, is the beef?

According to a letter from the European Commission that’s quoted in the article, the US rules could “lead to duplication of laws and to potentially irreconcilable conflicts of laws for market operators.”

This is a theme we have sounded before.  It’s also one that policymakers from Asia are voicing.  Earlier this week, five regulators from three Asia-Pacific jurisdictions (Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia) jointly signed a letter to the CFTC voicing their concerns.  As their letter states:

“…we are concerned that some of the proposed requirements as they currently stand may have significant effects on financial markets and institutions outside of the US. We believe a failure to address these concerns could have unintended consequences, including increasing market fragmentation and, potentially, systemic risk in these markets, as well as unduly increasing the compliance burden on industry and regulators.”

Is there a solution in sight?

Perhaps.  As Hong Kong’s Secretary for Finance Services and The Treasury separately wrote to US policymakers:

“…we call for greater coordination internationally on implementation of OTC regulations, particularly those with cross-border implications.  We hope the CFTC, SEC and the US Treasury will defer the application of the US rules and regulations over non-US persons and work with the international community on a coordinated framework on regulatory cooperation in cross-border OTC transactions.  We also hope the US authorities would provide greater clarity to the Proposed Guidance and to recognize the OTC derivatives regulatory regimes of overseas jurisdictions on the basis of international standard.”

The lines are open.  Regulators are standing by.