If the measures become law, they would require regulators to rethink their approach to some of the thorny questions that have arisen during the implementation of the 2010 law's new derivatives rules.
One of the bills, sponsored by Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., would apply to so-called end users, or firms that use derivatives to hedge their exposure to various risks. Under the bill, end users would not be subject to margin requirements, which force firms to set aside money to reduce risk, for swaps that do not go through a clearinghouse.
But the bill's exemption from margin requirements would not apply to financial entities, including banks. This provision of the bill has drawn opposition from the American Bankers Association.
A second bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, would exempt swaps traded between different affiliates within the same financial institution from some of the requirements imposed by Dodd-Frank.
A third bill, sponsored by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., would prevent regulators from requiring that swap execution facilities, which function much like clearinghouses, have a minimum number of participants.
The House Financial Services Committee is also scheduled to vote Wednesday on a Republican-sponsored bill that would exempt public companies with a market capitalization of less than $500 million from certain auditing requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
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