CFTC Staff Letters Archive

CFTC Staff Letters Archive provides Letters from 2007 and earlier. For Letters published 2008 or later visit the All Letters page.

There are no Advisory Letters or Other Written Communications for 2007 or earlier.

Date	PDF and Description
12/11/2007	07-24 ; Regulation 1.12(h), 1.20 and 1.25;; No-Action Response to query from a designated self-regulatory organization regarding whether notice under 1.12(h) is required in connection with an investment of customer funds that complies with the segregation requirements of Section 4d and Commission Regulation 1.20, but does not meet all of the requirements in Commission Regulation 1.25.
11/13/2007	07-21 ; Section 2(a);; No-Action No-Action Relief to Offer and Sell in the United States OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm AB Futures Contract Based on the VINX30 Index.
11/08/2007	07-23 ; Section 4d of the Commodity Exchange Act;; No-Action The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight issued a letter granting no-action relief to permit the foreign affiliates of a U.S. futures commission merchant (“US FCM”) to act as an introducing broker (“IB”) so as to introduce institutional U.S. customers to any registered FCM for purposes of trading U.S. exchange-traded futures and options, without registering as an IB under the Commodity Exchange Act (“Act”). Pursuant to Regulation 30.10, the foreign affiliates have been granted an exemption from registration as an FCM for purposes of offering foreign futures and options to U.S. customers. The Regulation 30.10 relief, however, does not extend to any activities related to trading, directly or indirectly, on U.S. exchanges. The relief was predicated upon, among other conditions, an acknowledgment by US FCM that it will be jointly and severally liable for any violations of the Act or the Commission’s regulations committed by any foreign affiliate in connection with the latter’s handling of orders for U.S. customers for trading of futures and options on U.S. exchanges, including those orders executed by a foreign affiliate and given up to another FCM.
11/07/2007	07-22 ; Commission Regulation 4.22; Commission Regulation 1.16;; No-Action Multi-columnar financial statements were acceptable for a commodity pool series fund organized as a Delaware statutory trust in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles as the series fund complied with requirements necessary to maintain an inter-series limitation on liability and received an unqualified audit opinion.
10/18/2007	07-20 ; Section 4d of the Commodity Exchange Act;; No-Action The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight issued a letter granting no-action relief to permit the foreign affiliates of a U.S. futures commission merchant ("US FCM") to act as an introducing broker ("IB") so as to introduce institutional U.S. customers to any registered FCM for purposes of trading U.S. exchange-traded futures and options, without registering as an IB under the Commodity Exchange Act ("Act"). Pursuant to Regulation 30.10, the foreign affiliates have been granted an exemption from registration as an FCM for purposes of offering foreign futures and options to U.S. customers. The Regulation 30.10 relief, however, does not extend to any activities related to trading, directly or indirectly, on U.S. exchanges. The relief was predicated upon, among other conditions, an acknowledgment by US FCM that it will be jointly and severally liable for any violations of the Act or the Commission’s regulations committed by any foreign affiliate in connection with the latter’s handling of orders for U.S. customers for trading of futures and options on U.S. exchanges, including those orders executed by a foreign affiliate and given up to another FCM.
09/13/2007	07-19 ; Section 4m(1) – CPO registration requirement;; No-Action The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight took a CPO registration no-action position with respect to the general partner of a commodity pool such that the investment manager of the pool could serve as the registered CPO of the pool instead of the pool’s general partner. This position was based upon representations that: (1) the investment manager was registered as a CPO; (2) the general partner and the investment manager were under common ownership and control; (3) the general partner did not engage in solicitation of pool participants or any other pool operator functions; and (4) the general partner and the investment manager executed cross acknowledgments of joint and several liability for any violations by the other of the CEA and Commission rules. The no-action position was expressly conditioned upon continued registration as a CPO of the investment manager.
09/13/2007	07-18 ; Section 4m(1) – CPO registration requirement;; No-Action The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight took a CPO registration no-action position with respect to the general partner of a commodity pool such that the investment manager of the pool could serve as the registered CPO of the pool instead of the pool’s general partner. This position was based upon representations that: (1) the investment manager was registered as a CPO; (2) the general partner and the investment manager were under common ownership and control; (3) the general partner did not engage in solicitation of pool participants or any other pool operator functions; and (4) the general partner and the investment manager executed cross acknowledgments of joint and several liability for any violations by the other of the CEA and Commission rules. The no-action position was expressly conditioned upon continued registration as a CPO of the investment manager.
08/23/2007	07-15 ; Regulation 1.65(a);; No-Action The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight (DCIO) granted no-action relief from the customer consent requirements of Regulation 1.65(a) to a transferee firm where the transferor firm was believed to be undercapitalized and the transfer was taking place as soon as possible. DCIO stated that, because of the exigent circumstances, granting relief would not be contrary to the public interest. DCIO also noted that the Commission recognized that, when it adopted Regulation 1.65(a), the normal ten-business-day advance notice of bulk transfers would not be applicable in a financial emergency.
08/21/2007	07-17 ; Section 4d of the Commodity Exchange Act;; No-Action The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight issued a letter granting no-action relief to permit the foreign affiliate of a U.S. futures commission merchant (“US FCM”) to act as an introducing broker (“IB”) so as to introduce institutional U.S. customers to any registered FCM for purposes of trading U.S. exchange-traded futures and options, without registering as an IB under the Commodity Exchange Act (“Act”). Pursuant to Regulation 30.10, the foreign affiliate has been granted an exemption from registration as an IB for purposes of offering foreign futures and options to U.S. customers. The Regulation 30.10 relief, however, does not extend to any activities related to trading, directly or indirectly, on U.S. exchanges. The relief was predicated upon, among other conditions, an acknowledgment by US FCM that it will be jointly and severally liable for any violations of the Act or the Commission’s regulations committed by the foreign affiliate in connection with the latter’s handling of orders for U.S. customers for trading of futures and options on U.S. exchanges, including those orders executed by a foreign affiliate and given up to another FCM.
08/21/2007	07-16 ; Section 4d of the Commodity Exchange Act;; No-Action The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight issued a letter granting no-action relief to permit the foreign affiliate of a U.S. futures commission merchant (“US FCM”) to act as an introducing broker (“IB”) so as to introduce institutional U.S. customers to any registered FCM for purposes of trading U.S. exchange-traded futures and options, without registering as an IB under the Commodity Exchange Act (“Act”). Pursuant to Regulation 30.5, the foreign affiliate has been granted an exemption from registration as an IB for purposes of offering foreign futures and options to U.S. customers. The Regulation 30.5 relief, however, does not extend to any activities related to trading, directly or indirectly, on U.S. exchanges. The relief was predicated upon, among other conditions, an acknowledgment by US FCM that it will be jointly and severally liable for any violations of the Act or the Commission’s regulations committed by the foreign affiliate in connection with the latter’s handling of orders for U.S. customers for trading of futures and options on U.S. exchanges, including those orders executed by a foreign affiliate and given up to another FCM.