Wall Street watchdog blasts omnibus deal

One of the nation’s top financial regulators is blasting the low level of funding his agency received in the recent passed spending bill.

Timothy Massad, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said the level of funding his agency received is far short of what it needs to be effective.

{mosads}“The failure to provide the CFTC even a modest increase in the fiscal year 2016 budget agreement sends a clear message that meaningful oversight of the derivatives markets, and the very types of products that exacerbated the global financial crisis, is not a priority,” he said in a statement. “The CFTC’s appropriation simply doesn’t match our vast responsibilities.”

President Obama signed the $1.1 trillion spending package Friday, including $250 million for the CFTC, which oversees the financial derivatives marketplace. That leaves the watchdog’s funding levels unchanged from fiscal 2015 and below the $280 million Obama requested in his last budget request.

The CFTC, along with fellow regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission, has been pushing for budget boosts since they have expanded responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

But so far, Republican appropriators have been unwilling to pay at the levels requested at the administration, arguing the regulators should be able to make do with the funds at hand.

While the CFTC has written most of its new rules required by Dodd-Frank, Massad warned that his team will be severely stretched when it comes to making sure the financial world is following those rules.

“Sensible regulation requires resources, and strong rules are meaningless unless they can be enforced properly,” he said.