June 23, 2016

CFTC Requests Public Comment on Swap Clearing Requirement Submissions

Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is requesting public comment on submissions the CFTC received over the past several years from seven registered derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs) pursuant to section 2(h)(2)(B) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulation 39.5(b). The comment period will be open until July 25, 2016.

The 34 submissions, which can be viewed at DCO Swaps Submissions, and any comments submitted in response to this request, will inform the CFTC as it considers whether to propose a swap clearing requirement pursuant to section 2(h)(2)(D) of the CEA.

In posting these submissions today, the CFTC is not proposing a swap clearing requirement, as the CFTC did most recently on June 9, 2016, regarding certain interest rate swaps (see Press Release 7387-16). The submissions do not include those swaps that are subject to this recent proposal or the swaps that are currently required to be cleared under the CFTC’s existing clearing requirement (see DCO Swaps Subject to Clearing Requirement). If the CFTC decides to propose a clearing requirement determination for any of the swaps covered by the submissions posted today, then, at that time, the CFTC will invite further public comment in response to a notice of proposed rulemaking, similar to the one published in the Federal Register on June 16, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 39506).

The CFTC is required to post these submissions for public comment under section 2(h)(2)(B) of the CEA and regulation 39.5(b)(5). The submissions were filed by CME Inc.; Eurex Clearing AG; ICE Clear Credit LLC; ICE Clear Europe Ltd.; LCH.Clearnet Ltd.; LCH.Clearnet SA; and Singapore Exchange Derivatives Clearing Ltd. The submissions cover certain interest rate swaps; credit default swaps; foreign exchange non-deliverable forwards; energy swaps; agricultural swaps; and inflation swaps.

Comments may pertain specifically to a single submission or generally to several or all submissions. The CFTC is particularly interested in comments that provide data and analysis and that discuss the swaps in terms of the five factors that the CFTC is required to consider in determining whether to issue a clearing requirement determination under section 2(h)(2)(D) of the CEA.

Comments may be submitted electronically through the CFTC’s Comments Online Process. All comments will be posted on the CFTC’s website.

Last Updated: June 23, 2016