On February 12, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced 2019 Examination Priorities (the “Examination Priorities”) for registrants of the Division of Market Oversight (DMO), Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO), and Division of Clearing & Risk (DCR). This marks the first time that the agency has published Examination Priorities for its divisions.… Continue Reading
Search Results for:
CFTC Requests Public Comment on a Rule Amendment Certification Filing by ICE Futures U.S.
Posted in CFTCThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission is requesting public comment on a rule amendment certification filing by ICE Futures U.S., Inc. (IFUS). As described in the certification, the proposed amendment to IFUS Rule 4.26 would allow for the implementation of Passive Order Protection (POP) Functionality, which is intended to reduce latency advantages between traders engaged in… Continue Reading
CFTC Issues No-Action Relief From Certain Position Aggregation Requirements
Posted in CFTCOn December 21, 2018, the Division of Market Oversight (DMO) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued Letter 18-33 responding to a request for relief from compliance with certain position aggregation requirements under CFTC Regulation 150.4(b)(2)(i)(D). CFTC Regulation 150.4(b)(2) provides an owned-entity exemption from aggregation. Any person with an ownership or equity interest in an… Continue Reading
NFA Adopts Interpretive Notice Regarding CPO Internal Controls Systems
Posted in CFTCOn December 10, the National Futures Association (NFA) submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a proposed Interpretive Notice to NFA Compliance Rule 2-9, which would provide commodity pool operators with guidance on designing and implementing an adequate system of internal controls. On January 31, the NFA issued Notice I-19-03 announcing the recent adoption of… Continue Reading
NFA Amends Interpretive Notice Regarding ISSPs
Posted in CFTCOn January 7, the National Futures Association (NFA) issued a notice to its members that amendments to its Interpretative Notice, entitled NFA Compliance Rules 2-9, 2-36 and 2-49: Information Systems Security Programs, were finalized and will take effect on April 1.… Continue Reading
CFTC Issues Staff Letters Related to Eurex Clearing AG
Posted in CFTCOn December 20, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) and Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued several staff letters related to Eurex Clearing AG (Eurex) for the purpose of (1) authorizing Eurex to clear and settle swaps on behalf of US persons and (2) facilitating such… Continue Reading
CFTC Issues Request for Input on Crypto-Assets
Posted in CFTC, Digital Assets and Virtual CurrenciesAs part of its LabCFTC initiative, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a Request for Input (RFI) to deepen the CFTC’s understanding of the technology, mechanics, and markets for Ether and its use on the Ethereum Network. In particular, the RFI seeks to understand similarities and distinctions between Ether and Bitcoin (as well as other… Continue Reading
NFA Proposes Interpretive Notice Regarding CPO Internal Controls Systems
Posted in CFTCOn December 10, the National Futures Association (NFA) submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a proposed Interpretive Notice to NFA Compliance Rule 2-9, which would provide commodity pool operators (CPOs) with guidance on designing and implementing an adequate system of internal controls. Specifically, the Interpretive Notice requires CPOs to implement an internal controls system… Continue Reading
NFA Proposes Amendments Incorporating Swaps into Compliance Rules and Interpretive Notices
Posted in CFTC, DerivativesOn December 10, the National Futures Association (NFA) submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for review and approval proposed amendments to various NFA Compliance Rules and four NFA Interpretive Notices to incorporate swaps into these rules and notices. Specifically, the NFA proposal would amend the following Compliance Rules:… Continue Reading
CFTC Proposes To Amend Annual Privacy Notice Requirement
Posted in CFTCThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed to amend its regulations to eliminate the requirement for registered firms to provide annual privacy notices to their customers, under certain conditions, consistent with amendments made to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in late 2015. If adopted, the proposed amendments would provide an exemption to registered futures commission merchants, retail… Continue Reading
CFTC Grants Exemption From SEF Registration to Four Additional MTFs
Posted in CFTCThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission has amended its order granting an exemption from swap execution facility (SEF) registration to include four additional multilateral trading facilities: Creditex Brokerage LLP; Currenex; FX Connect; and Thomson Reuters. The order, which was originally issued by the CFTC in December 2017 and discussed in the December 15, 2017 edition of… Continue Reading
NFA Proposes To Amend Interpretive Notice on Information Systems Security Programs
Posted in CFTCNational Futures Association (NFA) has proposed to amend its interpretive notice on information systems security programs (ISSPs) to further clarify each member’s obligations relating to its ISSP, including training, approval and incident reporting. With respect to ISSP training, the amended interpretive notice will require members to train their employees upon hiring and on at least… Continue Reading
CFTC’s LabCFTC Releases Primer on Smart Contracts
Posted in CFTCOn November 27, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s LabCFTC released “A CFTC Primer on Smart Contracts” to provide information on a variety of financial technology (FinTech) topics. LabCFTC is a hub designed for the CFTC to engage with the FinTech community. The primer defines a “smart contract” as “a set of coded computer functions” that… Continue Reading
CFTC Announces Agenda for Market Risk Advisory Committee Public Meeting
Posted in CFTCThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission has announced that its Market Risk Advisory Committee will hold a meeting on December 4. The meeting will be held at CFTC’s headquarters in Washington, DC beginning at 9:30 a.m. and is open to the public. The Committee will receive a report from the Interest Rate Benchmark Reform Subcommittee, followed… Continue Reading
CFTC Approves a Final Rule to Amend Uncleared Swap Margin Requirements
Posted in CFTC, DerivativesOn November 19, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a final rule to amend its margin requirements for uncleared swaps for swap dealers and major swap participants for which there is no prudential regulator (CFTC Margin Rule). As a part of the Project KISS initiative, the amendments were designed to harmonize the CFTC Margin Rule… Continue Reading
CFTC Takes Action on Rules Relating to Swaps and Swap Execution Facilities
Posted in CFTCOn November 5, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission held an open meeting to consider the following matters relating to swaps and swap execution facilities: Final Rule: Amending the De Minimis Exception to the Swap Dealer Definition Proposed Rule: Amendments to Regulations on Swap Execution Facilities and Trade Execution Requirement Request for Comment Regarding the Practice… Continue Reading
CFTC Issues No-Action Relief Regarding FCM’s Deposit of Customer-Owned Securities
Posted in CFTCOn October 31, the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued Letter No. 18-26 to provide continuing relief to a futures commission merchant (FCM) from certain requirements regarding the holding of customer-owned securities as margin for trading on foreign futures and foreign options markets. This letter supersedes… Continue Reading
CFTC’s Office of the Chief Economist Issues Report on Initial Margin Phase 5
Posted in CFTCOn October 31, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Office of the Chief Economist issued a report on “Phase 5” of the uncleared margin rules (UMR). The purpose of the report is to provide a guide to regulators in their responses to requests for relief from various industry representatives.… Continue Reading
CFTC Approves Proposed Regulations for CPOs and CTAs
Posted in CFTCOn October 9, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved proposed rules intended to simplify regulations for commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs) generally by codifying existing staff advisory and no-action letter relief and streamlining registration requirements for CPOs that operate in multiple jurisdictions.… Continue Reading
NFA Bylaw 1303 Amendments To Take Effect October 31
Posted in CFTCOn October 11, the National Futures Association (NFA) issued a notice to its members that amendments to NFA Bylaw 1303 take effect on October 31. NFA Bylaw 1303 allows the NFA to deem an NFA member’s failure to pay certain fees as a request for withdrawal from NFA membership. Bylaw 1303 will be deemed amended,… Continue Reading
CFTC Releases White Paper Addressing Cross-Border Swaps Regulation
Posted in CFTCOn October 1, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo released a white paper addressing the regulation of cross-border swaps. The white paper, titled “Cross-Border Swaps Regulation Version 2.0: A Risk-Based Approach with Deference to Comparable Non-U.S. Regulation,” sets forth various proposed changes to the CFTC’s current cross-border approach.… Continue Reading
CFTC and Australian Securities Regulator Sign FinTech Cooperation Agreement
Posted in CFTCThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have entered into a cooperation arrangement on financial technology innovation. The arrangement is intended to facilitate cooperation and the sharing of information between the CFTC and ASIC relating to financial technology and the use of technology for purposes of regulation and oversight… Continue Reading
NFA Issues Notice on Calculating Financial Ratios on NFA Forms PQR and PR
Posted in CFTCNational Futures Association (NFA) has issued a notice to commodity pool operator (CPO) and commodity trading advisor (CTA) members clarifying the method by which CPOs and CTAs should calculate the Current Asset/Current Liability (CA/CL) ratios and the Total Revenue/Total Expenses (TR/TE) ratios for purposes of NFA Forms PQR and PR.… Continue Reading
FinCEN Issues Advisory on FATF-Identified Jurisdictions With AML/CFT Deficiencies
Posted in CFTCThe Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory to announce that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) updated its list of jurisdictions with strategic anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) deficiencies. In the advisory, FATF has removed Iraq and Vanuatu from the list and added Pakistan to the list. The advisory… Continue Reading