Release: #4547-01
For Release: August 1, 2001

CFTC Kicks Off Implementation of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act by Adopting New Rules for Exchanges

Washington -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that it has adopted the first set of final rules in its regulatory reinvention effort under the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA).

On December 15, 2000, Congress passed the CFMA, which was signed into law on December 21, 2000. The CFMA amended the Commodity Exchange Act to, among other things, establish two categories of markets subject to CFTC regulatory oversight (designated contract markets and registered derivatives transaction execution facilities) and two categories of exempt markets (exempt boards of trade and exempt commercial markets), with regulatory oversight varying among these categories according to the nature of the products and the participants in the different markets.

This first set of rules establishes administrative procedures necessary to implement these trading facility provisions of the CFMA, interprets certain provisions of the CFMA, and provides guidance to industry participants on compliance with various requirements of the Act. The new rules will be published in the Federal Register. (The Commission previously requested public comment on the rules, as proposed, on March 9, 2001 (66 FR 14262).)

Acting Chairman James E. Newsome stated that "Implementation of the CFMA is my highest priority and I am pleased to announce measurable progress. Because the rules adopted today are only a first step, I want to express my gratitude to the many market participants who provided thoughtful comments on these rules and to encourage their continued involvement as the Commission moves ahead with its implementation efforts."

Copies of this document can be obtained by contacting the Office of the Secretariat, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20581, (202) 418-5100 or by accessing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission website.

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