On April 13, the National Futures Association (NFA) issued Notice I-21-15 advising members firms that new NFA Compliance Rule 2-50 and its related Interpretive Notice become effective June 30. (The proposal of the new rule and Interpretive Notice was discussed in the March 12, 2021 edition of Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest.)
Continue Reading NFA Issues Notice Regarding Effective Date of NFA’s Rules Regarding CPO Notice Filing Requirements

On March 24, the National Futures Association (NFA) issued Notice I-21-13 to advise member firms that the Interpretive Notice entitled, “NFA Compliance Rules 2-9 and 2-36: Members’ Use of Third-Party Service Providers” (Interpretive Notice) will become effective September 30.
Continue Reading NFA Issues Notice Regarding Effective Date of Interpretive Notice on Use of Third-Party Service Providers

On March 17, Acting Chairman Rostin Benham of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that he has created a new Climate Risk Unit (CRU) to focus on the role of derivatives in mitigating climate-related risks and helping the economy transition to lower carbon usage. The CRU includes staff from across the CFTC’s various divisions and officers and represents the next step in years of climate leadership for the CFTC (including last year’s publication of the Market Risk Advisory Committee’s Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee’s report on Managing Climate Risk in the US Financial System).
Continue Reading CFTC Acting Chairman Announces New Climate Risk Unit

On March 11, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory to announce that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has updated its list of jurisdictions with strategic anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) deficiencies.
Continue Reading NFA Publishes Series of Member Notices Related to Common Deficiencies and Other Regulatory Matters

On December 8, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved a final rule amending Part 37 of the CFTC Regulations addressing operational issues facing swap execution facilities (SEF) and their market participants in connection with the CFTC’s regulatory requirements for a SEF’s audit trail data, financial resources, and chief compliance officer (CCO). Specifically, the Final Rule (1) eliminates the requirement for a SEF to capture and retain post-execution allocation information in its audit trail data, (2) applies the existing Core Principle 13 financial resources requirements to SEF operations in a less burdensome manner, and (3) streamlines requirements for the CCO position and allows SEF management to exercise greater discretion in CCO oversight.
Continue Reading CFTC Unanimously Approves Final Rules Related to SEFs and Withdraws Comprehensive Proposals

On December 8, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) unanimously approved two final rules related to margin requirements for uncleared swaps for swap dealers (SD) and major swap participants (MSP).
Continue Reading CFTC Unanimously Approves Final Rules Related to Margin Requirements for Uncleared Swaps for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants

On December 8, the National Futures Association (NFA) issued Notice I-20-45 to remind member firms that the compliance date for NFA’s Swaps Proficiency Requirements (Requirements) is January 31, 2021 (Compliance Date). As more fully discussed in the July 10, 2020 edition of the Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest,
Continue Reading NFA Issues Notice to Members Regarding Compliance Date Swaps Proficiency Requirements

On November 23, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) published an interim report regarding the circumstances leading up to the negative settlement price on April 20 of the West Texas Intermediate Light Sweet Crude Oil futures contract (WTI Contract) traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Continue Reading CFTC Staff Publishes Interim Report on NYMEX WTI Crude Contract