U.S. Senate panel to mull regulation of banks, physical commodities

Reuters
A New York City police officer stands outside the New York Stock Exchange, on Wall Street, May 14, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) - A subcommittee of the powerful Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a hearing for January 15 to discuss regulating Wall Street's role in physical commodity markets. Among the witnesses scheduled to speak at the panel are top oversight officials with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and an official from the Federal Reserve's banking supervision arm. The hearing comes as the Fed reconsiders exemptions given to banks since the early 2000s that allow them to engage in the previously prohibited trading of physical commodities. (Reporting by Ros Krasny; Editing by Bernard Orr)