CFTC Staff Letters

Letter 13-48 grants relief from grants relief from the aggregation prohibition in § 43.6(h)(6) for certain commodity trading advisors (“CTAs”) and investment advisors (“IAs”) with respect to large notional off-facility swaps. The no-action letter provides that until October 1, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST, the Division will not recommend that the Commission take enforcement action against CTAs and IAs that aggregate orders for the purpose of executing large notional off-facility swaps, provided they meet specified conditions. The letter also grants relief from the aggregation prohibition in § 43.6(h)(6), for CTAs and IAs, subject to similar conditions as laid out in §43.6(h)(6), aggregating orders for swaps that are not listed on a swap execution facility (“SEF”) or a designated contract market (“DCM”). This letter has been amended from the original version that was issued on July 30, 2013.

Extension of Time-Limited No-Action Relief from the Clearing Requirement for Swaps Entered into by Cooperatives.

Amendment to the Direct Access No-Action Letters Issued to Foreign Boards of Trade to Permit Swaps to be Listed for Trading by Direct Access.

No-Action Relief for Registered Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants from Certain Requirements under Subpart I of Part 23 of Commission Regulations in Connection with Uncleared Swaps Subject to Risk Mitigation Techniques under EMIR.

No-Action Relief for Eurex Clearing AG with Regard to Sections 5b(a) and 2(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act and Implementing Regulations Thereunder.

No-Action Relief for LCH.Clearnet with Regard to Sections 5b(a) and 2(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act and Implementing Regulations Thereunder.

Time-Limited No-Action Relief Permitting Part 45 and Part 46 Reporting Counterparties to Mask Legal Entity Identifiers, Other Enumerated Identifiers and Other Identifying Terms and Permitting Part 20 Reporting Entities to Mask Identifying Information, with respect to certain Enumerated Jurisdictions.

The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued a time-limited no-action letter that grants relief to all swap dealers and major swap participants from the portfolio reconciliation requirements of Regulation 23.502 until August 23, 2013.

The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued a no-action letter that provides swap dealers with relief from certain External Business Conduct Standards rules in the context of foreign exchange intermediated prime brokerage arrangements.

Given that an SD or MSP could partially comply with Regulation 23.504 by establishing and maintaining the required written policies and procedures, the Division has determined to grant only part of the relief requested. In addition, the Division is persuaded by the requesters that its no-action relief would best be structured by counterparty type to rapidly achieve compliance for a large volume of Covered Transactions while providing appropriate relief to the SDs, MSPs and counterparties that need more time to establish documentation compliant with Regulation 23.504. Accordingly, the Division will not recommend that the Commission take an enforcement action against an SD or MSP for failure to execute swap trading relationship documentation with a counterparty in compliance with Regulation 23.504 until (1) September 1, 2013 with respect to a counterparty that is an active fund; or (2) December 31, 2013 with respect to any other counterparty except a registered SD or MSP.