US Senate Confirms CFTC Chair, Commissioners

Chris Giancarlo, formerly an executive at futures brokerage GFI received the nod, as did Sharon Bowen, a veteran New York lawyer whose appointment had faced some opposition in recent months, thanks to her role as the head of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. They join Wetjen, who resumes his role as a commissioner, and Scott O'Malia to round out the top echelon of the CFTC.

The CFTC has been somewhat rudderless in recentmonths after a series of retirements, which included former chair Gary Gensler, and commissioners Bart Chilton and Jill Sommers. The regulator, once a small presence in the financial services industry focused on a narrow segment of trading activity that primarily covered agricultural futures, has seen its remit expanded dramatically since the introduction of the Dodd-Frank Act. The mammoth piece of legislation gave the CFTC oversight of the over-the-counter derivatives market, making it a player approaching the scale of the Securities and Exchange Commission, traditionally the US's primary regulatory entity.

Massad, a long-term government official and lawyer, previously served as the assistant secretary for financial stability at the Department of the Treasury, overseeing the controversial Troubled Asset Relief Program.