2022-09166
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25468-25469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09166]
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Intent To
Extend Collection 3038-0024: Regulations and Forms Pertaining to the
Financial Integrity of the Marketplace
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'' or
``CFTC'') is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the
proposed renewal of a collection of certain information by the agency.
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''), Federal agencies are
required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension
of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for
public comment. This notice solicits comments on the existing
collection of information pertaining to regulatory obligations for
financial reporting and recordkeeping by various Commission registrants
including swap dealers, futures commission merchants, introducing
brokers and retail foreign exchange dealers.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 28, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``OMB Control No.
3038-0024'' by any of the following methods:
The Agency's website, at https://comments.cftc.gov/.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments through the website.
Mail: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the
Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as Mail above.
Please submit your comments using only one method. All comments
must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an English
translation. Comments will be posted as received to https://www.cftc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Bauer, Special Counsel,
Market Participants Division, Commodity Futures Trading Commission,
Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581;
(202) 418-5472; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.,
Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (``OMB'') for each collection of information they conduct or
sponsor. ``Collection of Information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)
and 5 CFR 1320.3 and includes agency requests or requirements that
members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide
information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day
notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of
information, including each proposed extension of an existing
collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for
approval. To comply with this requirement, the Commission is publishing
notice of the proposed extension of the existing collection of
information listed below. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.\1\
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\1\ The OMB control numbers for the CFTC regulations were
published on December 30, 1981. See 46 FR 63035 (Dec. 30, 1981).
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Title: Regulations and Forms Pertaining to the Financial Integrity
of the Marketplace (OMB Control No. 3038-0024). This is a request for
an extension of a currently approved information collection.
Abstract: The Commission is the independent federal regulatory
agency charged with providing various forms of customer protection so
that users of the commodity markets can be assured of the financial
integrity of the markets and the intermediaries that they employ in
their trading activities. Part 1 of the Commission's regulations
requires, among other things, that commodity brokers--known as futures
commission merchants (``FCMs''), or Introducing Brokers (``IBs''),
comply with certain minimum financial requirements. In order to monitor
compliance with these financial standards, the Commission has required
FCMs and IBs to file financial reports with the Commission and with the
designated self-regulatory organization of which they are members as
well as to report to the Commission should certain financial
requirements drop below prescribed minimums.
In 2008, the U.S. Congress passed the Food, Conservation, and
Energy Act of 2008, Public Law 110-246, 122 Stat. 1651, 2189-2204
(2008), also known as the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill provided the
Commission with new authority with regard to the regulation of off-
exchange retail forex transactions. Among other things, it directed the
Commission to draft rules effectuating registration provisions for a
new category of registrant--the retail foreign exchange dealer
(``RFED''). Under the terms of the legislation, RFEDs are subject to
the same capital requirements as FCMs that are engaged in retail forex
transactions, and, therefore, subject to the same reporting
requirements. Accordingly, this collection was amended to reflect the
financial reporting requirements of the new category of registrant,
RFEDs.
In 2010, the US Congress passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act (the ``Dodd-Frank Act''), Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat.
1376 (2010), giving the Commission the authority to regulate certain
swap markets and participants in those markets. Section 731 of the
Dodd-Frank Act, amended the Commodity Exchange Act (``CEA''), 7 U.S.C.
1 et seq., to add, as section 4s(e) thereof, provisions concerning the
setting of capital and initial and variation margin requirements for
swap dealers (``SDs'') and major swap participants (``MSPs''). In 2016
and 2020 respectively, the Commission finalized the Margin Requirements
for Uncleared Swaps for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants rule
and the Capital Requirements for Swap Dealers and Major Swap
Participants rule to implement those requirements. Specifically, such
rules include
[[Page 25469]]
financial reporting and recordkeeping, as well as application processes
for model approval for both capital and margin models for SDs and MSPs
that do not have a prudential regulator (``Covered Swap Entities'' or
``CSEs'').
Separately, in 2013, the Commission finalized rules in an effort to
prevent unauthorized usage of customer funds by FCMs and RFEDs. The
final rules included modifications to the reporting requirements
required by the Commission which resulted in changes to the financial
statements filed by FCMs and RFEDs, and made some of the recordkeeping
requirements already contained in this OMB Collection Number 3038-0024
into reporting requirements. These rules added additional recordkeeping
requirements by FCMs to assure the segregation of customer funds.
This collection, OMB Control No. 3038-0024, is needed for the
Commission to continue its financial monitoring of its registrants. The
burden hours are being revised to reflect the current number of various
types of registrants and updated to reflect more accurate estimates
regarding the number of financial reports filed, based on current
historical data.
With respect to the collection of information, the CFTC invites
comments on:
Whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the information will have a practical
use;
The accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and
Ways to minimize the burden of collection of information
on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
You should submit only information that you wish to make available
publicly. If you wish for the Commission to consider information that
you believe is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act, a petition for confidential treatment of the exempt information
may be submitted according to the procedures established in Sec. 145.9
of the Commission Regulations.\2\
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\2\ 17 CFR 145.9.
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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 https://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 Information Collection Request 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 Freedom of Information Act.
Burden Statement: The Commission is revising its estimate of the
burden for this collection for approximately 61 FCMs and RFEDs, 53 CSEs
and 1,019 IBs. The respondent burden for this collection is estimated
to be as follows:
Respondents/Affected Entities: FCMs, RFEDs, IBs, SDs, and MSPs.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,133.
Estimated Average Burden Hours per Respondent: 251 hours.\3\
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\3\ Rounded off from 250.7714033.
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 284,124 hours.\4\
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\4\ This figure is derived from 250.7714033 (burden hours per
respondent) x 1133 respondents = 284,124.
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Frequency of Collection: At various intervals.\5\
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\5\ For example, FCMs have both daily and monthly financial
reporting obligations, annual certified financial and compliance
report obligations, and periodic notice requirements.
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There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs
associated with this collection.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)
Dated: April 25, 2022.
Robert Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2022-09166 Filed 4-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P