On September 22, 2015, the CFTC issued a “supplemental” proposed rulemaking (the “2015 Proposal”) to revise its long-pending proposal on aggregation for position limit purposes published in November 2013 (the “2013 Proposal”). The 2015 Proposal, if finalized, would provide companies with over 50% ownership or equity interest in affiliated entities with an easier mechanism to … Continue Reading
On May 18, 2015, the CFTC published in the Federal Register its final revised 7-part Interpretation regarding “forward contracts with embedded volumetric optionality.” The final guidance provides useful clarification in determining when a contract with an embedded volumetric option qualifies for the forward contract exclusion from the “swap” and “future delivery” definitions under the Commodity … Continue Reading
On May 7, 2015, the CFTC published in the Federal Register a proposal to eliminate the odd-yet-burdensome Form TO, which for the past two years has been required of derivatives end-users to report certain information to the CFTC regarding their trading in commodity trade options. If the proposal is adopted as final after the close … Continue Reading
On September 3, 2014, the US banking agencies (the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency), along with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), issued for comment a proposed rule that would implement the sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street … Continue Reading
A federal district court has handed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) a substantial victory, largely rejecting a legal challenge to the agency’s cross-border interpretive guidance brought by financial trade associations such as SIFMA and ISDA. The court’s Opinion means that, absent a successful appeal, the CFTC’s Guidance and its cross-border application of its Dodd-Frank swap … Continue Reading
CME Rule 575, codifying types of disruptive order entry and trading practices is effective today. Our September 8, 2014 blog post discusses the new rule and a related CME advisory. Last week, CME’s Chief Regulatory Officer, Global Head of Enforcement and Global Head of Investigations provided an outreach webinar on the new rule hosted by the … Continue Reading
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 4413, a bill that would reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and also make some important changes to the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), including changing the definition of the term “swap” in a way that would benefit certain physical market participants. H.R. 4413, which currently is … Continue Reading
CME Group Exchanges are adopting new Rule 575 to codify particular types of disruptive order entry and trading practices that are prohibited as abusive to the orderly conduct of trading or the fair execution of transactions, effective September 15, 2014… Continue Reading
This Summer, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted long-awaited rules on cross-border security-based swap activities. The SEC’s rules provide: 1) an explanation of when a cross-border transaction must be counted towards the requirement to register as a security-based swap dealer (SBSD) or major security-based swap participant (MSBSP), including transactions guaranteed by a US person … Continue Reading
Staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an Interpretation permitting futures commission merchants (FCMs) to deposit US customer funds margining foreign futures and options positions with UK investment firms that are licensed deposit-taking banks as bank deposits. CFTC customer protection rules Part 30 of the CFTC’s regulations governs the offer and sale … Continue Reading
During an otherwise quiet Summer at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), agency staff hosted a public Roundtable where commercial end-users and other market participants could comment on the CFTC’s re-proposed rules to implement the position limits and aggregation provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The common theme from end-users was that the CFTC’s proposals would … Continue Reading
Staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued a no-action letter to swap execution facilities (SEFs), through September 30, 2015, if a SEF: 1) incorporates by reference the terms of underlying previously-negotiated agreements between swap counterparties in its confirmation without receiving copies of those agreements by the time the trade is executed; or … Continue Reading
