Opening Statement of Commissioner Brian D. Quintenz before the Open Commission Meeting on September 16, 2019

Open Meeting on Final Rule on Position Limits and Position Accountability for Security Futures Products and Proposed Rule on Public Rulemaking Procedures (Part 13 Amendments)

September 16, 2019

Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this meeting.  I am pleased to support today’s proposals, which are both examples of good government.

The Commission’s regulations establishing position limits and position accountability levels for security futures products (SFP) have not been substantively amended to account for market developments since they were first adopted in 2001.  While position limits on equity options have increased over time, the Commission’s SFP position limits have remained unchanged.  Today’s final rule increases the default maximum level of equity SFP position limits that exchanges may set and modifies the criteria exchanges apply when setting higher position limits to be based primarily on deliverable supply.  These long overdue updates to SFP position limits aim to provide regulatory comparability with equity options and minimize competitive disparity between the two markets.

I am also pleased to support the second rulemaking before us today.  The Commission is updating its rulebook to eliminate the unnecessary and defunct part 13 rulemaking procedures.  The Administrative Procedures Act (APA) governs the Commission’s rulemaking process, making it unnecessary and confusing to codify that process in a Commission regulation that is duplicative of the APA.