The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued a time-limited no-action letter providing relief to non-U.S. swap dealers ("SDs") and non-U.S. major swap participants ("MSPs") established in Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, and Switzerland from compliance with CFTC Rule 23.600(c)(2) ("Periodic Risk Exposure Reports as Part of a Risk Management Program for SDs and MSPs") and Rule 23.608 ("Restrictions on Counterparty Clearing Relationships"), and, in the case of a non-U.S. SD or non-U.S. MSP established in Switzerland, Rule 23.609 ("Clearing Member Risk

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight and the Division of Market Oversight issued a time-limited no-action letter that provides relief to commodity trading advisors ("CTAs") that are members of swap execution facilities ("SEFs") from the oral recording requirement set forth in CFTC Rule 1.35(a). The no-action letter is in response to letters from the Asset Management Group of SIFMA ("SIFMA AMG") and the Managed Funds Association ("MFA"), which sought relief from the recordkeeping requirements to the extent that such requirements apply to Asset Managers. In the no-action

The CFTC Division of Market Oversight ("DMO") issued a no-action letter providing swap execution facilities ("SEFs") relief, under certain conditions, in connection with a SEF's provision of certain "basis risk mitigation services."& As described in the letter, "basis risk mitigation services" are procedures by which a broker (which now must register as a SEF) executes trades pursuant to an algorithm between multiple parties, in order to reduce the risks of those parties, based on the positions that each of them holds. The letter grants relief to registered SEFs that provide basis risk

The CME settled for relatively small penalties a number of discrete violations of its rules, but each settlement highlights important requirements that must be strictly adhered to. In the first settlement, an FCM settled a CME disciplinary matter for payment of U.S. $10,000 related to its netting of offsetting positions in a physically delivered futures contract (i.e., soybean oil futures) on November 25, 2011, during a period of time (i.e., the delivery month and two days prior) when all such futures contracts ordinarily can be offset only through transactions executed in the market place

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has submitted to the CFTC for its approval new rules to enhance its ability to raise cash from clearing members during certain crises. Among other measures, the CME proposes that if it ever needs to convert non-cash collateral to cash for same-day settlement for a clearing member or its customers, it will attempt to do so through asset sales, uncommitted funding arrangements or other services that it has arranged. However, if these efforts are unsuccessful to raise sufficient liquidity, the CME proposes to be able to declare a "Liquidity Event" and unilaterally