I support the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Office of Financial Research (OFR) to share data collected by the Commission on Form CPO-PQR.

Following the 2008-09 financial crisis, Congress created the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and tasked it with collecting information from member agencies, including the CFTC, to monitor the financial markets to identify potential threats to the financial stability of the United States.[1]  To carry out this responsibility, FSOC is authorized to request information on nonbank financial companies from member agencies and receives data and analysis from OFR.[2]  Having one central repository aggregate data across bank and nonbank entities can be a powerful tool in identifying and managing risks to the financial system.  At the same time, the sharing of this information across agencies must be subject to strict requirements to protect the confidential nature of this data.

For many years, OFR has been receiving from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) information on Form PF submitted by Commodity Pool Operators (CPOs) that are dually-registered with the SEC as broker-dealers, as well as from other SEC-registered investment advisers.  OFR recently requested similar information from the CFTC for CPOs not dually registered with the SEC.  The information on the Commission’s revised Form CPO-PQR that will be shared with OFR under this MOU is less detailed than what is currently reported on Form PF.  OFR states that it intends to use this Form CPO-PQR information “in connection with the functions and activities of OFR and [FSOC] under the Dodd-Frank Act.”[3]  Any publication by OFR of Form CPO-PQR data as part of that function must be anonymized and cannot be released without the Commission’s consent.

This MOU builds upon an earlier arrangement between all FSOC member agencies regarding the sharing of non-public information (2011 FSOC MOU).[4]  Any information shared by OFR with other FSOC member agencies, including the information shared under the MOU approved today, will be subject to the confidentiality provisions in the 2011 FOSC MOU.

I would like to thank the Chairman and the staff in the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight for addressing my comments to this MOU, which allows me to vote in favor of it today.