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Dodd-Frank Swaps Roundup: CFTC Extends Position Limits Comment Period, Limited Data Reporting Relief and More
Practical Law Legal Update 3-573-5787 (Approx. 5 pages)
Dodd-Frank Swaps Roundup: CFTC Extends Position Limits Comment Period, Limited Data Reporting Relief and More
by Practical Law Finance
| Published on 09 Jul 2014 • USA (National/Federal) |
A roundup of recent CFTC swaps regulatory activity.
Extension of Public Comment Period on Re-Proposed Speculative Position Limits
On June 27, 2014, the CFTC issued a 30-day extension of the period for public comment on:
- Its revised proposal on speculative position limits for physical commodities.
- A related aggregation proposal.
(see Legal Update, CFTC Re-proposes Position Limits for Speculative Commodity Derivatives). The comment period for these two proposed rules originally ended in February 2014, but was extended until August 4, 2014 in order to provide interested parties a chance to comment on the issues discussed at a CFTC roundtable that took place on June 19, 2014.
Update: On December 4, 2014, The CFTC reopened the comment period for these two proposed rules for the period of December 9, 2014 to January 22, 2015 to provide commenters with a sufficient period of time to respond to questions raised and points made at an Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting on December 9, 2014, which considered, among other things, deliverable supply and exemptions for bona fide hedging positions.
Further Update: On February 19, 2015, the CFTC again reopened the comment period for these two proposed rules for the period of February 26, 2015 to March 28, 2015 to provide commenters with a sufficient period of time to respond to questions raised and points made at an Energy and Environmental Markets Committee meeting on February 26, 2015, which considered, among other things, exemptions for bona fide hedging positions.
Limited Data Reporting Relief
No-action Letter 14-89: Data Reporting Confidentiality Relief
On June 27, 2014, the CFTC issued No-action Letter 14-89 (No-action 14-89), extending no-action relief from certain reporting obligations under Parts 20, 45 or 46 of the CFTC's regulations for swap data from jurisdictions in which there may be statutory or regulatory prohibitions to reporting data. These "enumerated jurisdictions" are: France, Korea, Luxembourg, the People’s Republic of China, Switzerland, Taiwan, Belgium, India, Algeria, Singapore, Bahrain, Argentina, Hungary, Samoa, Austria, and Pakistan. This relief extended relief granted under No-action letter 13-41 (see Legal Update, CFTC Issues No-action Letters Giving Swap Dealers More Time to Comply with Dodd-Frank Rules: Data Reporting Confidentiality), which expired on June 30, 2014. Under No-action 14-89, relief is extended until the earlier of:
- The date on which the reporting party no longer holds the requisite reasonable belief regarding the privacy law consequences or reporting.
- 12:01 am EST on January 16, 2015.
No-action Letter 14-90: Extended Relief for Swap Dealers from Reporting Valuation Data
On June 27, 2014, in No-action Letter 14-90, the CFTC extended relief from certain requirements of CFTC Regulations 45.4(b)(2)(i) and (ii) (valuation data reporting) to swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs) acting as reporting counterparties for swap transactions (see Legal Update, Limited No-action Relief from Swap Data Reporting Rules Issued by CFTC) from June 30, 2014 to June 30, 2015. SDs have asserted that they do not yet have the requisite technological infrastructure to comply with this rule.
Relief Extended to LCH.Clearnet
On June 25, 2014, in No-action Letter 14-85, the CFTC extended no-action relief granted to LCH.Clearnet Limited (LCH) on September 23, 2013, providing relief pending CFTC approval of LCH's application to register as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO):
- To LCH for clearing swaps executed on a designated contract market (DCM) or swap execution facility (SEF).
- To the clearing members of LCH for clearing swaps executed on a DCM or SEF through LCH.
This relief only applies to current and future clearing members of LCH and expires on the earlier of December 31, 2014 or the date upon which the CFTC approves or denies LCH's application for an amended DCO registration order to permit it to clear DCM/SEF swaps.
The CFTC also issued No-action Letter 14-86 granting related relief to LCH and to Nodal Exchange LLC relating to LCH clearing activities pending approval of its DCO application.