August 26, 2015

CFTC Issues Orders of Foreign Board of Trade Registration to Permit Direct Access for ICE Futures Canada, Inc. and Montréal Exchange Inc.

Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) announced today that it has issued Orders of Registration to ICE Futures Canada, Inc. (ICEFC), a Foreign Board of Trade located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and Montréal Exchange Inc. (MX), a Foreign Board of Trade located in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Under their respective Orders, ICEFC and MX are permitted to provide their identified members or other participants located in the U.S. with direct access to their electronic order entry and trade matching system.

The Commission issued the Orders in accordance with Part 48 of the Commission’s regulations, which provides that such Orders may be issued to a foreign board of trade that possesses, among other things, the attributes of an established, organized exchange and that is subject to continued oversight by a regulator that provides comprehensive supervision and regulation that is comparable to the supervision and regulation exercised by the Commission.

ICEFC will offer direct access for futures and options contracts on milling wheat, canola, durum wheat, and barley. MX will offer direct access for futures contracts on interest rates (30-day Canadian bankers’ acceptances, Canadian overnight repo rate average (CORRA), and Government of Canada bonds) and certain broad-based security indices; as well as options on futures contracts based on CORRA and ten-year Government of Canada bonds. ICEFC and MX previously offered direct access pursuant to no-action letters issued by Commission staff. Pursuant to Commission regulation 48.6, these no-action letters were automatically withdrawn upon issuance of the Orders of Registration.

ICEFC and MX submitted applications for registration that included, among other things, representations that their respective regulatory regimes satisfy the requirements for registration in Commission regulation 48.7.

Upon review of the application, the Commission has determined that ICEFC and MX have demonstrated their ability to comply with the requirements of the applicable Commission regulations. The terms and conditions applicable to each Order include, among others, that ICEFC and MX shall comply with Commission regulation 48.8, Conditions of Registration, and any additional conditions that the Commission deems necessary and may impose, after appropriate notice and opportunity to respond. ICEFC and MX shall also continue to fulfill each of the representations they made in support of their applications for registration.

Last Updated: August 26, 2015