CFTC Staff Letters

Conditional No-Action Relief with respect to Swaps Trading on Certain Multilateral Trading Facilities Overseen by Competent Authorities Designated by European Union Member States

Time-Limited No-Action Relief with respect to Swaps Trading on Certain Multilateral Trading Facilities Overseen by Competent Authorities Designated by European Union Member States

The CPO of a commodity pool operating pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief from the requirement in Regulation 4.7(b)(3) and 4.22(d) that the financial statements in the pools annual report be audited. The CPO submitted waivers from all of the pools participants evidencing their consent to the relief requested. DSIO granted relief pursuant to Commission regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) conditioned upon the filing and distribution of an uncertified Annual Report for fiscal year 2013 that otherwise complies with the provisions of Regulation 4.7(b)(3).

The CPO of two commodity pools operating pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief from the annual report requirement in Regulation 4.7(b)(3) to permit it to file an Annual Report for the pools for the period from their inception of trading, July 19, 2013, to December 31, 2014. The CPO submitted signed subscription documents from all seven participants, acknowledging the terms of the Pools’ offering memorandum, which included the CPO’s intent to file and distribute an 18-month Annual Report for the Pools’ first fiscal year. DSIO granted relief pursuant to Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) conditioned upon the future filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the period from July 19, 2013 to December 31, 2014, in compliance with Regulation 4.7(b)(3).

The Division is issuing a letter providing time-limited no-action relief to: (1) entities or counterparties transacting package transactions from the requirements of CEA section 2(h)(8); and (2) SEFs and DCMs, trading package transactions from the requirements of § 37.9 of the Commissions regulations and CEA section 5(d)(9), respectively, until 11:59 p.m. (eastern time) May 15, 2014. This relief is intended to enable market participants to continue efforts towards complying with the trade execution requirement and to allow the Division to obtain additional information on package transactions, in part, from a public roundtable on February 12, 2014.

The CPO of two commodity pools all operating pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief from the requirement in Regulation 4.7(b)(3) and 4.22(d) that the financial statements in the pools annual reports be audited. The CPO requested permission to file unaudited financial statements for the period from their inception of trading on October 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. The CPO agreed to file an audited financial statement for the 15-month period from October 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014. The CPO submitted waivers from all of the pools participants evidencing their consent to the relief requested. DSIO granted relief pursuant to Commission regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) conditioned upon the future filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the period from October 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014, in compliance with Regulation 4.7(b)(3) and the filing and distribution of an unaudited Annual Report that otherwise complies with Commission regulation 4.7(b)(3)(i) for the period from October 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014.

The CPO of an offshore commodity pool requested relief from the requirement in Commission regulation 4.7 that the pools financial statements be prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The CPO requested permission to use Luxembourg GAAP in lieu thereof. The CPO represented that the preparation of the pools financial statements would satisfy the requirements of Commission regulation 4.22(d)(2)(i) with respect to the use of Luxembourg GAAP. The Division granted relief to the CPO with respect to the distribution of annual financial statements prepared in accordance with Luxembourg GAAP in lieu of US GAAP

The CPO of a commodity pool operating pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief from the requirement in Regulation 4.7(b)(3) and 4.22(d) that the financial statements in the pools annual reports be audited. The CPO was not required to submit waivers because the pools only participants are two partners of the CPO. DSIO granted relief pursuant to Commission regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) conditioned upon the filing and distribution of an unaudited Annual Report that otherwise complies with Commission regulation 4.7(b)(3).

Time-limited no-action relief granted to a registered futures commission merchant regarding the maintenance of certain Rule 30.7 accounts.

The Division of Clearing and Risk issued a letter stating that it will not recommend that the Commission take enforcement action against ASX Clear (Futures) Pty Limited for failure to register as a derivatives clearing organization pursuant to Section 5b(a) of the Commodity Exchange Act in connection with the clearing of certain interest rate swaps.