In a speech given yesterday, CFTC Chairman Walker Lukken announced that he will step down as Chairman of the CFTC upon inauguration of President-elect Obama.  Chairman Lukken also advocated completely the scrapping of the current regulatory structure in favor of a “bold, new” regulatory system.  It is unclear how these comments will be interpreted by the CFTC, especially with regard to the release of the proposed forex registration rules. 

Below are a couple of quotes from the speech which can be found here.

The CFTC will also face a transition with the coming Administration. As Acting Chairman of the CFTC, I serve under the nomination of the current President and do not intend to stay in the role of Acting Chairman past the inauguration. I also intend to leave the Commission shortly after stepping aside as Acting Chairman to provide others with an opportunity to serve the public. I am looking forward to helping the new Administration with this transition over the coming months.

It is in this spirit that today I advocate a bold, new direction for our regulatory system. I believe the United States should scrap the current outdated regulatory framework in favor of an objectives-based regulatory system consisting of three primary authorities: a new Systemic Risk Regulator, a new Market Integrity Regulator and a new Investor Protection Regulator. This objectives–based framework is similar in concept to the reforms advanced by Treasury Secretary Paulson’s Blueprint and Paul Volcker’s Group of Thirty Report.

This broad restructuring must be preceded or accompanied by a complete rewrite and modernization of the laws and regulations governing the financial markets, including the securities and futures laws, to adopt a more consistent principles-based regulatory approach. One of the lessons from this crisis is that the current rules-based regulatory approach was not able to keep up with the speed and innovation of the financial markets. A principles-based structure complements tailored rules by adding needed guidance and flexibility to desired policy objectives. This helps prevent institutions from making end runs around static rules when such actions violate a broader public policy. The CFTC currently utilizes such an approach, coupled with strong enforcement, which has enabled the agency to keep pace with fast moving global markets.