On October 15, CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) announced that it is providing self-executing registration no-action relief for certain commodity pool operators (CPOs) who delegate certain activities (Delegating CPOs) to a registered CPO and meet the conditions specified. The relief was made available in CFTC Staff Letter 14-126. Release. Staff Letter.
Commodity Pool Operators
CFTC No-Action Relief for Commodity Pools
On April 2, the CFTC issued a time limited no-action letter that extended the deadline for compliance with reporting for commodity pool operators of securitization vehicles from March 31 until June 30. CFTC No Action Letter.
CFTC No-Action Letters
From December 14 through December 31, 2012, the CFTC released the following no-action letters:
- December 14: Timeline for Swap Dealer Compliance with Large Swap Trader Reporting Rules
- December 14: Annual Reports of Chief Compliance Officers for Swap Dealers
- December 17: Reporting of Unique Swap Identifier by Prime Brokers
- December 17: Compliance with Reporting Obligations by Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants
- December 18: Japan Securities Clearing Corporation and its Clearing Participants
- December 18: Treatment of Swap Transactions on Natural Gas Exchange for Calculations under the Swap Dealer Definition
- December 18: Obligation of Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants to provide Pre-Trade Mid-Market Mark for certain Credit Default Swaps and Interest Rate Swaps
- December 19: Reporting Provisions for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants for CDS Clearing-Relating Swaps
- December 19: Treatment of Swap Transactions by persons engaging in Floor Trader Activities for purposes of Swap Dealer Definition Calculations
- December 21: Treatment of Swap Transactions arising from Multilateral Portfolio Compression Exercises for purposes of Swap Dealer Definition Calculations
- December 21: Legal Entity Identifiers and Certain Identifying Information
- December 21: Singapore Exchange Derivatives Clearing Limited and its Clearing Members
- December 21: Compo Equity Total Return Swaps
- December 21: Reporting of Certain Non-Reporting Counterparty Information
- December 21: Swap Data Reporting Relief for Swap Dealers
- December 21: Registration Relief for Operators in Investment Pools that invest in Legacy Securitization Vehicles
- December 21: Registration Relief for Certain Commodity Pool Operators, Commodity Trading Advisors or any Principal or Associated Person required to register
- December 21: Registration Relief for Certain Associated Persons required to register as a commission merchant
- December 31: Registration Relief for Certain Introducing Brokers and Commodity Trading Advisors Involved in Swaps Activities
- December 31: Relief for Certain U.S. Banks Wholly Owned by non-U.S. Swap Dealers for purposes of Swap Dealer Definition Calculations
CFTC No-Action Relief for Mortgage REIT Operators from Commodity Pool Operator Registration
On December 7, the CFTC issued a no-action letter to mortgage real estate investment trusts which provides that the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight will not recommend that the CFTC take enforcement action against the operators of mortgage REITs for failure to register as commodity pool operators under the Commodity Exchange Act and the CFTC’s regulations, provided that the mortgage REIT satisfies certain criteria including compliance with a de minimis threshold. CFTC Release. No-Action Letter.
CFTC No-Action Relief for CPO Registration of Family Offices
On November 30, the CFTC issued a no-action letter stating that the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight will not take enforcement action against the operators of family offices for failure to register as commodity pool operators. CFTC Release. CFTC No-Action Letter.
CFTC No-Action Relief for CPO Registration of Business Development Companies
On December 4, the CFTC issued a no-action letter stating that the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight will not take enforcement action against operators of business development companies for failure to register as commodity pool operators. CFTC Release. CFTC No-Action Letter.
CFTC Swap No-Action Relief for Registration and Compliance
On July 13, the CFTC announced time-limited no-action relief for commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs) who have been exempt or excluded from registration but, because of recent amendments to Commission Regulations 4.13 and 4.5, now need to register and satisfy compliance obligations. Under the relief, the CFTC will not take will not take enforcement actions against CPOs or CTAs for failure to register until December 31, subject to satisfaction of requirements including filing of a notice. CFTC Release.
CFTC Proposed Amendments to Investment Company Reporting Requirements
On February 9, the CFTC proposed to amend reporting requirements for investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the advisers of which would be required to register with the CFTC as commodity pool operators pursuant to amendments adopted by the CFTC to Section 4.5. Comments must be submitted within 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. CFTC Release. CFTC Proposed Rules.
CFTC Amendments to Registration and Compliance Obligations
On February 9, pursuant to Title IV and Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFTC adopted final amendments to Part 4 of the CFTC’s regulations that: (i) rescind the exemption from registration provided in Section 4.13(a)(4); (ii) rescind relief from the certification requirement for annual reports provided to operators of certain pools offered only to qualified eligible persons under Section 4.7(b)(3); (iii) modify the criteria for claiming relief under Section 4.5; and (iv) require annual filing of notices claiming exemptive relief under a number of sections of the CFTC’s regulations. In addition, the final rules includes new risk disclosure requirements for commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. The final rules will become effective 60 days from publication in the Federal Register, except for amendments to Section 4.27, which will become effective on July 2. CFTC Release. CFTC Final Rules.