Basel committee's chairman backs swaps.

LONDON -- A top European bank supervisor Monday defended the merits of derivative products and appeared to reject additional regulation of their use.

Tommaso Padoa Schioppa, chairman of the Basle Committee of Banking Supervision and deputy director general of the Banca d'Italia, said rules laid down by the Basle Committee on risk already apply to risks on derivatives.

"Ad hoc regulations applicable to derivatives would be justified only if one could convincingly argue that risks associated with derivatives are of a different nature than those of other financial products," he said at the International Monetary Conference here.

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