Public Statements & Remarks

Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham in Support of Swap Execution Facilities (SEF) Confirmation Requirements Final Rule

April 23, 2024

I support the Final Rule on Swap Confirmation Requirements for Swap Execution Facilities (SEF Confirmation Final Rule) because it resolves the temporal impossibility of requiring SEF confirmations at the time of execution for block trades, which are in fact executed away from the SEF and then submitted to the SEF afterwards. I would like to thank Roger Smith, Nora Flood, and Vince McGonagle in the Division of Market Oversight for their work on the SEF Confirmation Final Rule.

Conflicting or impossible regulatory requirements can make compliance with our rules nonsensical.[1] That is clear from the years of CFTC staff no-action relief that led to the rule amendments codified today in the SEF Confirmation Final Rule.[2] I am pleased that the Commission has decided to fix an unworkable aspect of our existing rules, and encourage the Commission to continue to do so promptly when market participants identify these problems in the future. Continuous improvement of our regulatory frameworks, as appropriate, serves the public interest of well-functioning markets that are efficient and effective in providing risk management and price discovery. 


[1] See Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham In Support of Swap Confirmation Requirements for Swap Execution Facilities Proposal (July 26, 2023), https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/phamstatement072623c.

[2] See, e.g., CFTC Staff Letter No. 17-17, Re: Extension of No-Action Relief for Swap Execution Facility Confirmation and Recordkeeping Requirements under Commodity Futures Trading Commission Regulations 37.6(b), 37.1000, 37.1001, 45.2, and 45.3(a) (Mar. 24, 2017).

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