"We applaud the unanimous recommendation of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets that Congress enact legislation to provide legal certainty for swaps, hybrid instruments, Treasury amendment products and other over-the-counter products, and that Congress act to remove barriers to financial innovation.

"The unified support of the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will provide further assurance to all financial market participants that these issues will be addressed by Congress in the CFTC reauthorization process. We look forward to working with Congress and the President's Working Group to implement these recommendations.

"Agreement by the President's Working Group on legal certainty also ensures that actions of key regulators in interpreting and enforcing existing laws will be based on consistent views of appropriate regulatory policies for swaps, hybrid instruments, Treasury amendment products and other over-the-counter products. Many corporations, financial institutions and government entities in the United States and abroad rely on these contracts to manage risks, many of which could not be hedged or managed in an efficient manner, if at all, without the use of these instruments. Legal uncertainty precludes the full realization of the powerful benefits such activities provide. The ability to pursue these activities within a clear legal framework in the United States is of vital economic interest."