On May 3, the Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) published Staff Letter No. 21-13 (Staff Letter), providing CX Clearinghouse, L.P. (CX) with no-action relief from specified Part 39 regulations applicable to derivatives clearing organizations (DCO).
Continue Reading CFTC Issues No-Action Response Letter Providing Relief to DCO From Complying With Specified Part 39 Regulatory Requirements

On April 22, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Data, Division of Market Oversight and Division of Clearing and Risk (collectively, the Divisions) issued CFTC Letter No. 21-11, which (1) provides no-action relief to KalshiEX LLC (Kalshi), a designated contract market, and LedgerX, LLC (LedgerX), a derivatives clearing organization, from reporting to swap data repositories data for binary option transactions executed on or subject to the rules of Kalshi and cleared by LedgerX; and (2) exempts Kalshi and LedgerX from certain related recordkeeping requirements.
Continue Reading CFTC Issues Conditional Relief From Reporting Fully Collateralized Binary Option Data to Swap Data Repositories

On April 8, the Market Participants Division (MPD), Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR), Division of Data (DOD) and Division of Market Oversight (DMO) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission jointly issued no-action relief, effective immediately, to maintain the regulatory status quo for swap dealers (SD) following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the

On December 3, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) and Division of Market Oversight (DMO, and collectively, the Divisions) issued CFTC Letter No. 20-43, an interpretation regarding Sections 2(h)(1) and 2(h)(8) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and the CFTC regulations thereunder.
Continue Reading CFTC Interprets and Issues No-action Relief from Certain Clearing and Trade Execution Requirements

On December 4, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Market Participants Division (MPD) and Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) jointly issued no-action relief, effective immediately, to provide greater certainty to the global marketplace in connection with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The relief permits market participants to transfer certain swaps to an affiliate without such swaps becoming subject to the CFTC’s swap clearing requirement or uncleared swap margin requirement. The relief applies to transfers that occur up to one year following the conclusion of the transition period.
Continue Reading CFTC Staff Provides Further Brexit-Related Relief to Provide Market Certainty

On September 15, the staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) and Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued CFTC Letter No. 20-28, providing supplemental guidance and further no-action relief with respect to the treatment of separate accounts by futures commission merchants (FCMs). Initial guidance and relief was set out in CFTC Letter No. 19-17, which was issued in July 2019.
Continue Reading CFTC Staff Issue Supplemental Advisory and Time-Limited No-Action Relief on Treatment of Separate Accounts by FCMs

On August 31, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) issued a no-action letter (No-Action Letter 20-25) relating to the swap clearing requirement promulgated pursuant to section 2(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and codified in Part 50 of the CFTC’s regulations (Clearing Requirement).
Continue Reading CFTC No-Action Letter 20-25: CFTC Provides Time-Limited Relief from the Swap Clearing Requirement

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission Divisions of Market Oversight (DMO), Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO), and Clearing and Risk (DCR) (together, the Divisions) issued CFTC Letter 20-17 to remind Designated Contract Markets (DCMs), Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) and Derivatives Clearing Organizations (DCOs) of their obligations to prepare for extreme market volatility, low liquidity and possibly negative pricing for certain contracts. The Divisions issued the advisory in light of unusually high volatility and negative pricing experienced in the May 2020 West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Light Sweet Crude Oil Futures contract on April 20 (the penultimate day of trading and expiration of the contract), although the guidance also applies to trading in other commodities.
Continue Reading CFTC Staff Issues Advisory Addressing Current Market Conditions