For Release: June 17, 2013

CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight Provides Time-Limited No-Action Relief to Provide for Transition to SEF Registration

Washington, DC – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight (DMO) today announced the issuance of a time-limited no-action letter providing temporary no-action relief to entities that have been operating pre-Dodd Frank trading platforms. The Commission published its final SEF rules in the Federal Register on June 4, 2013.

On December 11, 2012, DMO issued staff No-Action Letter 12-48 (December 2012 Letter) which effectively extended the relief provided by the Commission’s Second Amendment to the July 14, 2011 Order for Swap Regulation to allow swap trading facilities that were unregulated prior to Dodd Frank to continue operating during the pendency of, and transition to compliance with, the SEF final rules. The no-action relief provided by the December 2012 Letter will expire on June 30, 2013, prior to the effective date of the SEF final rulemaking, which is August 5, 2013.

This no-action relief shall commence on July 1, 2013, and shall expire on the compliance date of the SEF final rulemaking, which is October 2, 2013, and shall supersede all terms and conditions of the December 2012 Letter. Under this no-action letter, a swap trading facility that wishes to avoid an interruption in operations on October 2, 2013, must as of that date be granted either temporary registration status as a SEF or be granted full registration status as either a Designated Contract Market or a SEF.

Last Updated: June 17, 2013