On July 19, the NIBA was invited to meet with representatives of the CFTC to discuss the status of customer education in the industry. NFA hosted the meeting in its Chicago office. Individuals from the NFA, ICE CME Group and CMC were also invited to meet the five staff members visiting from the CFTC Washington Office of Customer Education & Outreach (OCEO).
The original purpose of the gathering was to share information on how various industry groups educate the customer against fraudulent practices, with a primary emphasis on how we make use of social media.
The discussion eventually centered on how our groups communicate to our professional members using our websites and newsletters.
I believe the CFTC learned that industry groups communicate often and well with our members. Generally, NIBA and CMC do not communicate through group-focused media directly with customers. CME Group, ICE and NFA construct websites with the dual purpose of reaching professionals and customers. NIBA shared examples of our website and newsletters and invited all participants to visit us at theniba.com or to attend one of our in-person meetings.
At the conclusion of the nearly 2 1/2 hour briefing, it was agreed by all we would distribute information developed and distributed by the CFTC on our websites, etc. for the purpose of educating our members. NIBA will continue to communicate with the members of the OCEO for information relating to regulation and post information which may be of interest to or affect our customers.
