On December 10, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved a final rule eliminating the provisions of the Commission’s Regulations that established the formulation, amendment or repeal of its rules or regulations. The CFTC unanimously passed the final rule, with rule makers stating these provisions were unnecessary because the CFTC’s rulemaking process is governed by the Administrative Procedure Act. Rule.
On October 13, 2016, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission extended until December 31, 2018, the $8 billion swap dealer registration de minimis threshold. Unless it is further modified, the threshold will become $3 billion once the extension expires. Press Release.
On October 11, 2016, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC“) unanimously approved proposed rules relating to the application of certain swap provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CTFC to cross-border transactions. The proposed rules address, among other things, key terms for cross-border transactions, registration thresholds and external business conduct standards. The comment period ends 60 days after publication of the proposal in the Federal Register. Press Release.
On August 8, 2016, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced three separate enhancements relating to the protection of customer funds. The new protections address the exemption of certain Federal Reserve Banks from liability under the Commodity Exchange Act, as well as the use of money market funds by derivatives clearing organizations and futures commission merchants. Press Release.
On August 4, 2016, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced two separate actions relating to the application of the Dodd-Frank Act to cross-border transactions. The CFTC issued a Final Response to District Court Remand Order in Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, et al. v. United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission that explains the CFTC’s approach to application of swaps regulations internationally. The CFTC’s Divisions of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO), Clearing and Risk, and Market Oversight (Divisions) also issued a no-action letter that extends relief to swap dealers registered with the CFTC from certain transaction-level requirements under the Commodity Exchange Act. Press Release.
On April 8, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) Division of Market Oversight issued a no-action letter regarding the masking of information reportable under the ownership and control final rule (the “OCR Final Rule”). The no-action letter permits reporting parties with reporting obligations on OCR Forms 102A and 102B to mask certain identifying information, subject to conditions, until the earlier of: (i) a reporting party no longer holding the requisite reasonable belief regarding the privacy law consequences of reporting; and (ii) March 1, 2017. Release.
On April 8, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) Division of Market Oversight issued a no-action letter regarding the ownership and control final rule (the “OCR Final Rule”). The OCR Final Rule requires the electronic submission of trader identification and market participant data on new and updated forms. The no-action letter extends certain relief previously provided and is intended to provide improvements in the reliability and consistency of the OCR data submitted to the CFTC. Release.
On March 16, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a final rule that eliminated certain requirements “for trade option counterparties that are neither swap dealers nor major swap participants[.]” Release.
On March 14, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight published a time-limited no-action letter that changed the deadline “for relief in connection with swap trade confirmation requirements[.]” Release.
On February 12, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight provided “no-action relief from registration” to a specific subset of individuals: “persons located outside the United States who act as Introducing Brokers, Commodity Trading Advisors, or Commodity Pool Operators in connection with swaps that are not subject to a CFTC clearing requirement on behalf of persons located outside of the United States.” Release.
