Berkshire May Curtail Contracts

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which has more than $60 billion at risk in derivatives, may scale back offering new contracts because of collateral-posting requirements, a company executive said.

David Sokol, assigned by Buffett to lobby Congress over its financial regulation overhaul, said that while he was "comfortable" with Dodd-Frank Act provisions regarding derivatives, the Omaha company may find fewer opportunities to sell the contracts.

"If you are now going to have to post dollar-for-dollar collateral, and you can't get a price in the market that we think reflects the value of the credit quality of the company, then we wouldn't take on that risk," Sokol said in an interview with Bloomberg News in New York.

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