What happened
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is no longer pursuing new rules that would have addressed conflicts of interest at exchanges. This means the existing rules, which have been in place for years, will remain unchanged.
Why it matters
The CFTC had proposed these rules to ensure that exchanges, which regulate their own markets, did not have conflicts between their business interests and their regulatory duties. By withdrawing the proposal, the agency signals it is satisfied with the current level of oversight, or that it cannot agree on how to improve it. This leaves market participants to rely on the existing, less stringent, conflict of interest provisions.