WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. regulators have issued new standards for companies that will face new oversight in the global swaps market, easing the burden on so-called swap dealers who conduct less than $8 billion in annual value.

The previous ceiling under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was $3 billion annually, up from the initial amount of $100 million. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently agreed to the new rules, which the Securities and Exchange Commission also approved.

CFTC Chair Gary Gensler said he was confident the rule would impose new requirements on the dominant players in the swaps market even though the threshold is higher than initially proposed.

“End users other than those genuinely making markets in swaps won’t be required to register as swap dealers,” he said. “As the swap-dealing market is dominated by large entities, though, I believe that the final swap dealer definition will encompass the vast majority of swap dealing activity, as Congress had intended.”

The $708 trillion global swaps market is where mostly unregulated trades helped fuel the 2008 financial crisis, prompting passage of the Dodd-Frank Act.

U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), chair of the House Agriculture Committee, called the new changes significant for grain elevators, feed ingredient manufacturers, grain processors and exporters that also offer risk-management tools to hedge physical commodities.

“From what I can tell … there were improvements made to the final rule that will reduce the negative impact on end-users out in the countryside,” Lucas said.

The National Grain and Feed Assoc. (NGFA) pushed hard so commercial end users that offer risk-management tools are excluded from the registration, reporting, recordkeeping and financial standards under Dodd-Frank.

“We are encouraged that the CFTC acted to increase significantly the de minimis level of swap activity – to $8 billion annually – that would be necessary before an entity is classified as a swap dealer, compared to what initially was proposed,” said Todd E. Kemp, NGFA’s vice president of marketing and corporate treasurer.