As its name suggests, the SFA regulates both the cash market and derivatives.

Corker offered no evidence for his contention that regulating derivatives would impose constraints on the financial recovery of the United States.

Earlier in their investigation, the two agencies considered presenting new interpretations that could give them broad authority to regulate derivatives.

When people talk about regulating derivatives, registering hedge funds, and ending "too-big-to-fail," it may sound remote to most Americans.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has proposed a framework for legislation to regulate derivatives.

Born resigned as chairperson on June 1, 1999, shortly after Congress passed legislation prohibiting her agency from regulating derivatives.

Since then, these financial regulators have all expressed concern that further moves to regulate either hedge funds or derivatives could prove harmful or inadequate.

Efforts to regulate derivatives were thwarted by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, backed by several key officials.

Until this week it was easy to dismiss fear-mongering calls for regulating derivatives out of existence.

"There are now four pieces of legislation in the pipeline in the U.S. to regulate derivatives," Professor Hanke said.