Statement of Supporting

Chairman Gary Gensler

Swap Data Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements: Pre-Enactment and Transition Swaps

May 18, 2012

(Part 46)

I support the final rule establishing swap data recordkeeping and reporting requirements for pre-enactment and transition swaps, collectively called “historical swaps.” One of the main goals of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) is to bring transparency to the unregulated swaps market. Starting this summer, light will shine for the first time on this market with the reporting both to the public and to regulators of nearly every swap transaction.

The historical swaps rule builds on already completed swaps market transparency rules. It will help give regulators a complete picture of the swaps market, including data on swaps in existence at the time of the Dodd-Frank Act’s passage.

The rule provides market participants guidance on the reporting requirements for pre-enactment swaps (those entered into before the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act) as well as transition swaps (those entered into between the enactment date of the law and the applicable compliance date for swap data reporting). The rule specifies clearly what records must be kept and what data must be reported to swap data repositories (SDRs) with respect to these historical swaps. It ensures that the historical swaps data needed by regulators is available through SDRs beginning on the compliance date for swap data reporting.

The rule achieves the reporting benefits of Dodd-Frank while reducing the costs and burdens associated with recordkeeping for historical swaps. Recordkeeping requirements for these swaps are minimized for counterparties who are not swap dealers or major swap participants. These counterparties are permitted to maintain records in any format they choose, and are allowed five days to retrieve their records.

Last Updated: May 18, 2012