2017-15857
Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 143 (Thursday, July 27, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 143 (Thursday, July 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34932-34933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15857]
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(``PRA''), this notice announces that the Information Collection
Request (``ICR'') abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of
Management and Budget (``OMB'') for review and comment. The ICR
describes the nature of the information collection and its expected
costs and burden.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 28, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the burden estimated or any other aspect
of the information collection, including suggestions for reducing the
burden, may be submitted directly to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs (``OIRA'') in OMB, within 30 days of the notice's
publication, by either of the following methods. Please identify the
comments by OMB Control No. 3038-0075.
By email addressed to: [email protected]; or
By mail addressed to: Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 725 17th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20503.
A copy of all comments submitted to OIRA should be sent to the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'' or ``Commission'') by
either of the following methods. The copies should refer to OMB Control
No. 3038-0075.
By submission through the Commission's Web site: http://comments.cftc.gov. Please follow the instructions for submitting
comments through the Web site;
By mail addressed to: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary
of the Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three
Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581; or
By hand delivery/courier to: The address listed above for
submission mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Scopino, Special Counsel, 202-
418-5175, email: [email protected], CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and
Intermediary Oversight.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 34933]]
Supporting statements. A copy of the supporting statements for the
collection of information discussed herein may be obtained by visiting
http://RegInfo.gov.
Comment instructions. All comments must be submitted in English, or
if not, accompanied by an English translation. Comments will be posted
as received to http://www.cftc.gov. You should submit only information
that you wish to make available publicly. If you wish the Commission to
consider information that you believe is exempt from disclosure under
the Freedom of Information Act (``FOIA''), a petition for confidential
treatment of the exempt information may be submitted according to the
procedures established in Sec. 145.9 of the Commission's regulations,
17 CFR 145.9. The Commission reserves the right, but shall have no
obligation, to review, pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse or remove any
or all of your submission from http://www.cftc.gov that it may deem to
be inappropriate for publication, such as obscene language. All
submissions that have been redacted or removed that contain comments on
the merits of the ICR will be retained in the public comment file and
will be considered as required under the Administrative Procedure Act
and other applicable laws, and may be accessible under the FOIA.
Title: Protection of Collateral of Counterparties to Uncleared
Swaps; Treatment of Securities in a Portfolio Margining Account in a
Commodity Broker Bankruptcy (OMB Control No. 3038-0075). This is a
request for an extension of a currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: On November 6, 2013, the Commission issued final rules
implementing statutory provisions pursuant to Title VII of the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank
Act'') and imposing requirements on swap dealers (``SD'') and major
swap participants (``MSP'') with respect to the treatment of collateral
posted by their counterparties to margin, guarantee, or secure
uncleared swaps.\1\ Additionally, the final rule includes revisions to
ensure that, for purposes of subchapter IV of chapter 7 of the
Bankruptcy Code, securities held in a portfolio margining account that
is a futures account or a Cleared Swaps Customer Account constitute
``customer property''; and owners of such accounts constitute
``customers.'' \2\ Section 4s(l) of the Commodity Exchange Act
(``CEA'') sets forth certain requirements concerning the rights of
counterparties of SDs and MSPs with respect to the segregation of
money, securities, or other property used to margin, guarantee, or
otherwise secure uncleared swaps. Section 23.701 of the Commission's
regulations implements part of the new statutory requirements by
specifying that certain information must be provided to counterparties
about the terms and conditions of segregation, including price
information, to the extent that the SD or MSP has such information, and
the identity of one or more independent depositories for segregated
collateral. Section 23.704 implements the requirements of CEA section
4s(l)(4), which dictates that, in certain circumstances, an SD or MSP
must report to the counterparty, on a quarterly basis, ``that the back
office procedures of the swap dealer or major swap participant relating
to margin and collateral requirements are in compliance with the
agreement of the counterparties.''
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\1\ 78 FR 66621 (Nov. 6, 2013).
\2\ Id.
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As discussed above, the rules establish reporting and recordkeeping
requirements that are mandated by section 4s(l) of the CEA, which
states that SDs and MSPs must notify their counterparties of the right
to have their initial margin segregated and to maintain the
confirmations and elections related to such notices as business
records. The reporting and recordkeeping requirements are necessary to
implement the objectives of section 4s(1). For example, the information
received by uncleared swap counterparties pursuant to Sec. 23.701 of
the Commission's regulations would alert counterparties to their
statutory right, if they so choose, to have funds or property used as
margin in uncleared swaps transactions with SDs and MSPs kept
segregated from the property of the SD or MSP. Likewise, the
information provided would further alert counterparties of the need to
request such segregation if they wish to exercise this right.
Similarly, the information received by uncleared swap counterparties
pursuant to Sec. 23.704 would be used to confirm that the back office
procedures followed by a SD or MSP with whom they are dealing comply
with the agreement of the parties. On May 12, 2017, the Commission
published in the Federal Register a notice of the proposed extension of
this information collection and provided 60 days for public comment on
the proposed extension. See 82 FR 22118 (May 12, 2017). The Commission
received no relevant comments.
Burden Statement: The Commission is revising its estimate of the
burden for this collection to reflect the current number of registered
SDs and MSPs. Accordingly, the respondent burden for this collection is
estimated to be as follows:
Number of Registrants: 102.
Estimated Average Burden Hours per Registrant: 3406.
Estimated Aggregate Burden Hours: 347,412.
Frequency of Recordkeeping: As applicable.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Dated: July 24, 2017.
Christopher J. Kirkpatrick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2017-15857 Filed 7-26-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P
Last Updated: July 27, 2017