Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Divisions of Clearing and Risk, Market Oversight, and Market Participants today issued a staff advisory on affiliations between a designated contract market (DCM), derivatives clearing organization (DCO), or swap execution facility (SEF) and an intermediary, such as a futures commission merchant, or other market participant, such as a trading entity.

The advisory issued today reminds DCOs, DCMs, and SEFs that have an affiliated intermediary or trading entity, as well as the affiliated intermediary or trading entities themselves, of their obligations to ensure compliance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements with this affiliate relationship in mind.

The advisory also informs market participants that CFTC staff closely scrutinizes how these types of affiliate relationships are addressed when reviewing applications for registration or designation; conducting examinations and rule reviews; and through other supervisory means. Market participants are invited to contact the relevant Division if there are concerns regarding these types of affiliate relationships.

The advisory can be found here and under Related Links.