Despite controversy surrounding the financial instruments known as derivatives -- and legislation that might finally start to regulate them -- the nation's top five banks are, for now, maintaining their stranglehold on the derivatives market, accounting for 97 percent of the $204.3 trillion in total volume last quarter, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reported Friday.
The lobbyists for the nation's biggest banks are fighting ferociously against legislation that would regulate the over-the-counter derivatives market. What is now essentially a market in which traders deal directly with one another would instead be diverted to public exchanges or other central facilities, though major loopholes remain.
Overall, the nation's banks saw an 11 percent increase in their trading revenue last quarter, turning a $5.7 billion profit -- their fourth-best quarter ever.
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