[ by Howard Haykin ] "As Regulator Scores Record Fine, Support Emerges for Bigger Budget." The CFTC had a big money day, fleecing Barclays with a $252 million fine for its efforts to manipulate a global interest rate benchmark. Now, the agency and Chairman Gary Gensler seem to have more friends and allies in Washington than they have pockets.  Seriously, it was just last week - or, at the most, 2 weeks ago - that Congressional leaders were proposing a 14% cut in the CFTC's budget - at a time with new derivatives and swaps trading and new rules to write under Dodd-Frank. Now, the cash collection from the Barclays case is leading those same, formerly obnoxious Congressmen, to call for a budget increase.  Having raised a quarter of a billion dollars, and with many other banks awaiting their sentencing, Congressional Republicans are smelling the sweet aroma of BIG BUCKS! In fact, the fine that the CFTC collected on Thursday, greatly exceeds what the Republican Congress has allowed the Agency to work with - in terms of an annual budget.  After receiving $205 million from Congress this year, Republicans moved to slash the agency's budget by 14%, to $180 million.  President Obama actually has been seeking a $308 million budget for the agency.  Even at that level, the agency would be Wall Street's smallest regulator.

[C-I Note: If this is what it takes to properly equip the CFTC, then all we can say is: "The End Justifies The Means."]

The Barclays case, which also produced fines from the Justice Department and London regulators totaling $450 million, was one of the largest regulatory sanctions tied to the financial crisis. It is also the biggest fine in the trading commission's history. "The success of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in conjunction with the Justice Department and British regulators in achieving this significant settlement, is one more strong argument against Republican efforts to deprive the C.F.T.C. of the funds it needs to be effective," Mr. Frank said. For further details, go to:  [Dealbook, 6/28/12].