美國2010金融改革法店頭衍生性商品集中結算之研究

A Study on the Central Clearing of Over-the-Counter Derivatives under the U.S. Financial Reform Act 2010

金融危機後，眾多戮力於店頭衍生性交易管制改革之國家中，美國係較早通過具體條文者。其所通過之「金融改革法案」以集中結算為原則，但非標準化衍生性商品、外匯換匯及遠期外匯等衍生性商品，以及最終使用者所從事之衍生性交易皆得以豁免集中結算之要求。本文探討這些例外規定設立之必要性，以及對於法案立法目的達成性之可能影響。本文雖不否定上述例外對維持市場功能之必要，但鑑於這些例外規定幾乎完全豁免了本次金融危機中引發問題的衍生性交易類型，而突顯了「金融改革法案」管制思維之矛盾：一方面強調需加強店頭市場衍生性交易的管制，另一方面卻又豁免此類商品。這在金融改革歷史上其實並不罕見，因為面對危機後強大的要求管制聲浪，政府常容易過度管制，而且因為欠缺足夠的理性討論空間，管制的方向也未必能對症下藥。

After the financial crisis, among the countries making efforts to reform the regulatory regime for the over-the-counter derivatives, the U.S. is one of those passing substantive legislation early. The passed bill, the Dodd-Frank Act, in principle, requires all OTC derivatives to be cleared except non-standardized derivatives, foreign exchange swaps, foreign exchange forwards, and swaps of which the counterparty is an end-user. This article discusses the need for and the possible impact of the above exemptions on the objective fulfillment of the Act. This article does not negate the need for the financial market to continue to function. However, the exemptions exactly expose the fallacy of the Act’s regulatory rationale because they almost free all the types of derivatives that caused the financial crisis. In other words, on the one hand, the Act emphasizes the need to tighten the regulation of the OTC derivatives, while on the other hand it exempts most of such derivatives from mandatory clearing. It is not uncommon in the history of financial regulatory reforms. The reason is because in response to the call and pressure for more regulation after financial crisis, a government tends to over-regulate and regulate in a way that cannot tackle the problem due to lack of sufficient room for rational discussion.