On March 13, FIA President and CEO Walt Lukken outlined several issues currently facing the futures and cleared derivatives industry at the 43rd Annual FIA Boca conference. Lukken noted the 10 year anniversary of the financial crisis and his own role in the response to the unprecedented events of 2008. The futures industry played an important role in providing a stable market during the crisis, he explained, and the fundamentals of futures markets – exchange trading, clearing and transaction reporting — became the pillars of the G20 reforms for the unregulated derivatives markets.

In his remarks, Lukken also urged regulators around the world to work together to develop a framework for a balanced deference approach to cross-border regulation to avoid costly, duplicative and confusing rules for this global, 24- hour market.

Lukken also discussed three major trends that are shaping the markets today. First, technology continues to disrupt the way business has been done for decades. Big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other technology trends will revolutionize the markets. Second, the emergence of China as a player in the futures industry has the potential to change the markets doing forward. Last, as the United States is on the verge of becoming a net exporter of energy, the changes in the energy sector has the potential not only to shape the markets of the future but will also change the geo-politics that has defined the post-World War II world.

Full remarks available here