The CFTC has adopted further protections for customer collateral posted in swap trades, an area of heightened importance as the search continues for hundreds of millions of dollars in missing MF Global customer money. The measure to protect swap traders' collateral used in trades to reduce risk was approved by a 4-1 vote with CFTC Republican Jill Sommers as the lone dissenter. The rule to protect swap traders' collateral, close to what the CFTC proposed in April, allows brokers to pool customer collateral but would prevent them from commingling the funds with their own capital.  It also lays out what happens in the event of a default. If one occurs by both the clearing member and one or more of its customers, the clearinghouse can only collect collateral of the defaulting member, or its own resources. Each individual account would be legally protected and funds from non-defaulting members could not be tapped to cover losses from another firms' default. The rule was called for in the Dodd-Frank, but efforts to boost protection and segregation of customer collateral have gained momentum following the collapse of futures brokerage MF Global last October. The CFTC also will vote on its draft of the Volcker rule that cracks down on banks' risky trading, a version similar to one introduced by four other regulators last October.  [Reuters 1/11/12]