No-Action Letters

13-01 ; Section 2(h) of the CEA; No-Action
No-Action Relief from Required Clearing for Swaps Resulting from Multilateral Portfolio Compression Exercises

13-02 ; Section 2(h) of the CEA; No-Action
No-Action Relief from Required Clearing for Partial Novation and Partial Termination of Swaps

13-03 ; Commission Regulation 3.3; No-Action
The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued a no-action letter providing certain futures commission merchants (FCMs) with limited relief surrounding the requirement that chief compliance officers of such FCMs prepare and submit an Annual Report, pursuant to Commission Regulation 3.3. The relief provided in the no-action letter is applicable to all FCMs that: (1) were registered with the Commission as of June 4, 2012; and (2) are not currently regulated by a U.S. prudential regulator or registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Covered Firms). The no-action letter enumerates the subjects that must be addressed in the Annual Report of a Covered Firm for the fiscal year that ends on March 31, 2013. The letter also provides relief concerning the certification that a chief compliance officer must execute with respect to that Annual Report.

13-04 ; Sections 4d and 4m of the Commodity Exchange Act; No-Action
The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight granted no-action relief from registration as an IB or a CTA to certain affiliates of a swap counterparty and the affiliates’ employees. The letter makes available registration relief to certain persons who would not otherwise be eligible for the relief DSIO previously provided to Agent Affiliates under CFTC Letter No. 12-70 (December 31, 2012). The relief is subject to a number of conditions, including that the swap counterparty be registered as a swap dealer within a specific period of time and conditions similar to those specified in CFTC Letter No. 12-70.

13-05 ; Section 4(c)(6); No-Action
Staff from the Division of Market Oversight, Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight, and the Division of Clearing and Risk issued a No-Action Relief letter today in order to give Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) time to enact certain tariff, protocol or rate schedule changes and take other steps necessary to (a) satisfy the conditions of the exemption granted to them in the related final order of March 28, 2013 and (b) to operate within the scope of that exemption.

13-06 ; Commission Regulations 23.201, 23.202, 23.203; No-Action
The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued a no-action letter that will delay until June 30, 2013, the compliance date for certain SD/MSP recordkeeping obligations under Commission Regulations 23.201, 23.202, and 23.203. The no-action letter issued by DSIO partially extends the relief that was provided in CFTC Letter No. 12-29, issued by DSIO on October 26, 2012. The relief provided in the no-action letter is applicable to all SDs and MSPs.

13-07 ; Part 4; No-Action
The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued a time-limited letter stating that DSIO will not recommend that the Commission take enforcement action against the commodity pool operators of securitization vehicles that are required to register by March 31, 2013 for failure to comply with certain enumerated sections in Part 4 of the Commission’s regulations, prior to June 30, 2013. Provided that the commodity pool operators of securitization vehicles comply with the guidance set forth in the letter with respect to those sections.

13-08 ; Regulation 32.2, 32.3; No-Action
The Division of Market Oversight is providing no-action relief to entities who are neither swap dealers or major swap participants with respect to certain reporting and recordkeeping requirements of the trade option exemption contained in Regulation 32.3.

13-09 ; Parts 45, 46, and 50; No-Action
No-Action Relief for Swaps Between Affiliated Counterparties That Are Neither Swap Dealers Nor Major Swap Participants from Certain Swap Data Reporting Requirements Under Parts 45, 46, and Regulation 50.50(b) of the Commission’s Regulations

13-10 ; Parts 43, 45 and 46 of the CFTC’s regulations; No-Action
The CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight has issued a no-action letter providing swap counterparties that are not swap dealers or major swap participants (“non-SD/MSP counterparties) with certain time-limited relief from the reporting requirements of the CFTC’s swap data reporting rules, which are set forth at Parts 43, 45 and 46 of the CFTC’s regulations.

13-11 ; Part 23, Subpart H, of the Commission’s Regulations; No-Action
The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued a time-limited no-action letter that provides swap dealers with relief from certain External Business Conduct Standards rules in the context of prime brokerage arrangements, subject to the conditions and limitations set forth in the letter.

13-12 ; Commission Regulation 23.431; No-Action
The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued a no-action letter that provides swap dealers and major swap participants with relief from certain disclosure requirements prescribed under Commission Regulation 23.431. The relief provided in the no-action letter is applicable to certain transactions in foreign exchange swaps and foreign exchange forwards. The relief provided in the no-action letter is applicable to all swap dealers, subject to the conditions and limitations set forth in the letter.

13-13 ; Part 23, Subpart H, of the Commission’s Regulations; No-Action
The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued a time-limited no-action letter that provides swap dealers and major swap participants with relief from compliance with External Business Conduct Standards rules in connection with certain foreign exchange transactions that have a settlement cycle of no more than seven local business days. The relief provided in the no-action letter is applicable to all swap dealers and major swap participants, subject to the conditions and limitations set forth in the letter. The relief provided in the no-action letter applies only to transactions executed prior to September 1, 2013.

13-14 ; Regulation 19.02; No-Action; Other Written Communication
The Division of Market Oversight (DMO) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an Advisory to reportable market participants as to their legal obligation to submit weekly Form 304 reports for call cotton in a timely manner as required under Regulation 19.02. DMO also took a no-action position with respect to allowing Form 304 reports to be submitted to a newly-created email account (Form304@cftc.gov), in lieu of submission by fax or telephone and mail.