If you’ve ever had two managers give you contradictory instructions on the same project, you understand the derivatives industry’s reporting problem. The SEC and CFTC, America’s two main financial regulators, each oversee a slice of the swaps market with their own distinct reporting rules. Now they’re formally asking the public how to fix that.

The two agencies are soliciting comments as part of a broader push to align data reporting requirements across security-based swaps (SEC territory) and swaps (CFTC territory). The goal is simple in theory, if historically elusive in practice: make firms report the same types of trades in roughly the same way, regardless of which regulator has jurisdiction.

A joint initiative months in the making

This isn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. The SEC and CFTC signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding on March 11, 2026, establishing what they’re calling a Joint Harmonization Initiative. That MOU laid the groundwork for everything happening now.

The timeline since then has moved at a pace that counts as brisk by regulatory standards. On April 13, ICE Trade Vault submitted comments advocating for the permanent codification of aligned reporting rules, arguing it would reduce operational burdens on market participants. By May, CFTC officials were signaling that joint requests for comment on data reporting harmonization would follow.

On June 1, reports surfaced that the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs was reviewing SEC-CFTC proposals concerning swaps reporting rules. The agencies plan to gather public input before moving toward formal rule proposals. Then on June 16, the CFTC took its own step by soliciting public comment on the renewal of existing swap data reporting information collections, with a deadline of August 17 for responses.

Why two sets of rules exist in the first place

The current mess dates back to the Dodd-Frank Act, which Congress passed after the 2008 financial crisis. That law split oversight of the derivatives market between the SEC and CFTC. The SEC got security-based swaps, which are derivatives tied to individual securities or narrow-based security indexes. The CFTC got everything else, which it regulates under its broader swap authority.

Each agency then built its own reporting framework. The SEC created Regulation SBSR. The CFTC developed its own set of swap data reporting rules. Both frameworks require market participants to report trade details to registered data repositories, but the specifics diverge in ways that create real headaches. Firms that deal in both types of swaps, which includes most major dealers, have to maintain separate compliance systems for each regulator.

What this means for investors and the derivatives market

ICE Trade Vault’s push for permanent codification of aligned rules is worth noting. The firm isn’t just asking for temporary relief or guidance letters. It wants these harmonized standards baked into the regulatory code permanently.

The White House’s involvement adds another layer. The fact that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is reviewing these proposals suggests the harmonization effort has support beyond just the two agencies.

For traders and investors watching the derivatives space, the August 17 comment deadline on the CFTC’s information collection renewal is the next concrete date to track.