As Financial Reformer, Dodd, Again, Dogged by Appearance of Conflict

March 23, 2010— -- As the debate over financial reform heats up, some new questions are being raised over potential conflicts of interest surrounding Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn. -- specifically whether his wife's ties to a major futures exchange, the CME Group, might undermine the reform process. The CME is seen as benefiting from new derivatives rules.

"Jackie Clegg Dodd is a major decision-maker at the CME," said Dave Levinthal, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C. "And the CME stands to greatly benefit from the Dodd legislation. Given that, whether there is an actual conflict is beside the point – the mere perception is enough to warrant further scrutiny."

A veteran financial policy expert going back to her days as deputy head of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Clegg-Dodd currently sits on the CME's board of directors and owns shares in the company. Her derivatives world directorship spans back nearly a decade to when she joined the board of the Chicago Board of Trade prior to that exchange merging with the CME in 2007.

Clegg-Dodd declined to comment. A CME spokesman e-mailed a written statement: "The CME Group has in place a conflict of interest policy that applies to its board members ... our board follows the policy, and conflicts of interests are raised, discussed and directors recuse themselves from the vote as appropriate."

A senior CME source, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted Clegg-Dodd has deliberately recused herself from all matters relating to credit default swaps. The CME spokesman could not comment on whether that has been the case.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee Monday passed a financial regulatory reform bill on to the full Senate where it will likely be taken on next month. A House version has already passed.