Three long days and very late nights with 1,004 registrants at the annual Futures Industry Association Conference in Boca Raton, Florida, certainly had its moments of industry optimism and gossip. Exchange executives and regulators were in abundance, but although being tasked with finding energy and regulatory news, it would have been easier to work for a gossip website.
Since most panels were informative, rather than news making, the media decided to focus on dancing skills of Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, who on the first night of the conference decided to show off his well-practiced abilities in front of the crowd he regulates. The timing couldn’t have been worse, as he choose to dance the night before his major speech to the conference, not after. Few people, including Gensler, thought about the implications of his maneuvers on the dance floor until major papers decided to make it the headline of the conference. The conference ended heavy on gossip and light on news.
A panel led by CFTC Commissioner Scott O’Malia, who peppered banking executives with questions about swap execution facilities, was the most newsworthy event of the weekend. A CFTC vote on the rules, delayed since March, is set for April. Other CFTC commissioners who participated in panel discussions were expectedly evasive in their answers as the crowd looked for insight into their decision-making process.
While this was a conference for exchanges and the companies who service them, I was struck by how few users of futures and swap products were there. Energy firms who use futures and swap products to manage risk were largely absent, although Alan Haywood, who serves as head of oil supply and trading at BP, was at the conference for a one-on-one interview with IntercontinentalExchange Chairman and CEO Jeff Sprecher.
Blog entry continues below…
|
|
||||
| Request a free trial of: Oilgram News |  |
|||
 |
Oilgram News brings fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news to your desktop every day. Our extensive global network of correspondents report on supply and demand trends, corporate news, government actions, exploration, technology, and much more. | |||
 |
||||
|
|
||||
The interview covered the vast energy market with broad strokes. I had been disappointed by the lack of sophisticated questions for a top executive at BP, as the audience was well-educated and informed. I had hoped the two executives might discuss the transition of energy swaps to futures products on Sprecher’s exchange and how BP and other energy firms have handled the evolution, not the well-discussed and analyzed shale revolution in the US. Maybe next time.
Sprecher, in his defense, had the most demanding schedule of anyone at the conference. It was his show, and he had everyone eating from the palm of his hand. At the ICE media happy hour, where palm trees and expensive yachts parked at the resort were in abundance, Sprecher held court with a dozen Wall Street analysts who looked at him with awe as he spoke of his expansion plans in Europe.
During the company’s information exchange at the conference, Sprecher said, “I think that continental Europe needs more consolidation in the exchange space.” I think he intends to be the one to lead that charge.
My final takeaway from the conference was how chummy regulators and industry executives have become after years of deliberating Dodd-Frank rules. Thousands of hours of discussions, phone calls and emails have translated into strong personal relationships. The regulator and market participant hats seemed to come off at night, as they actually relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company in the beautiful Florida weather while trying to forget about the seriousness of the issues, if even for a few hours.