Leverage Contracts: Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Regulation of Leverage Contracts

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the: (1) nature and components of leverage contracts; (2) extent to which the three leverage transaction merchants (LTM) complied with applicable laws and regulations; (3) various federal and state regulations governing LTM; (4) issues the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should explore in its mandated report on leverage contracts; (5) possibility of trading leverage contracts on a registered futures exchange; and (6) regulatory structure the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might apply to leverage contracts if they are viewed as securities.