On November 13, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight (DMO) issued CFTC Staff Letter No. 20-35, which extends temporary no-action relief to swap execution facilities (SEFs) and other market participants originally provided by CFTC Staff Letter No. 17-60. (For additional information regarding CFTC Staff Letter No. 17-60, please refer to the November 17, 2017 edition of Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest.) Staff Letter No. 17-60 provided that DMO would not recommend enforcement action against a SEF that has rules and/or procedures that use the SEF’s non-order book trading systems or platforms to facilitate the execution of block trades for swaps that are intended-to-be-cleared, and thus are not compliant with CFTC Regulation 43.2, subject to certain conditions being met.
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Christian B. Hennion
CFTC Unanimously Approves Final Rule Amending SEF Requirements
By Christian B. Hennion & Stanley V. Polit on
Posted in CFTC, Derivatives
On November 18, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) unanimously approved a final rule (Final Rule) amending CFTC regulations relating to the execution of “package transactions” on swap execution facilities (SEFs) and the resolution of error trades on SEFs.
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CFTC and Bank of England Sign Updated MOU for Supervision of Cross-Border Clearing Organizations
By Christian B. Hennion & Jack A. West on
On October 20, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Bank of England (BoE) announced that they had signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the cooperation and exchange of information to preserve the benefits of cross-border clearing activity. The MOU emphasizes the importance of supervision of central counterparties (CCPs) and clarifies that the…
CFTC Unanimously Approves Amendments to Form CPO-PQR
By Christian B. Hennion & Stanley V. Polit on
Posted in CFTC
On October 6, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) unanimously approved a final rule adopting amendments to Form CPO-PQR for commodity pool operators (CPOs). These rule changes were originally proposed in April and were the subject of a Katten client advisory, available here.
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CFTC and the Office of Financial Research Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Allow Information Sharing
By Christian B. Hennion & Stanley V. Polit on
Posted in CFTC
On October 6, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Office of Financial Research (OFR) that permits the CFTC to share with OFR information and data reported on Form CPO-PQR. OFR intends to use this data to carry out its statutory responsibilities and functions, which include conducting financial stability-related research and collecting data on behalf of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
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NFA Issues Notice on Effective Dates of Amendments to Code of Arbitration and Member Arbitration Rules
By Christian B. Hennion & Stanley V. Polit on
Posted in CFTC
On October 6, the National Futures Association (NFA) issued Notice I-20-36 to announce the effective dates of several amendments to the NFA’s Code of Arbitration and Member Arbitration Rules.
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CFTC Adds 22 Unregistered Foreign Entities to RED List
By Christian B. Hennion & Jack A. West on
Posted in CFTC
On August 24, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission added 22 unregistered foreign entities to its Registration Deficient List (RED List). A firm is added to the RED List when the CFTC determines that such firm (1) is not registered with the CFTC; and (2) appears to be acting in a capacity that requires registration, such…
LabCFTC Opens Registration for September 24 Empower Innovation 2020 Event
By Christian B. Hennion & Jack A. West on
Posted in CFTC
On August 20, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened registration and released the agenda for LabCFTC’s first Empower Innovation 2020 session, “The Power of Innovation: Where Tech & Crisis Collide.” Empower Innovation 2020 is a three-part virtual series hosted by LabCFTC to facilitate a dialogue on fintech innovation among innovators, regulators, market participants and the…
CFTC Announces Market Risk Advisory Committee Meeting
By Christian B. Hennion & Stanley V. Polit on
Posted in CFTC
On July 6, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC) announced that it will hold a public meeting on July 21.
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NFA Issues Notice to Members Regarding Compliance Date for Swaps Proficiency Requirement
Posted in CFTC
On July 8, the National Futures Association (NFA) issued Notice I-20-27 to remind member firms that the compliance date for NFA’s Swaps Proficiency Requirements (Requirements) is January 31, 2021 (Compliance Date). NFA Members with associated persons (AP) required to satisfy the Requirements must ensure that covered individuals are in compliance by the Compliance Date. Individuals who do not satisfy the Requirements by the Compliance Date will be unable to engage in swaps activities until they have done so.
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