The CFTC's Division of Clearing and Risk has announced that certain exemptive relief regarding the Clearing Requirement is scheduled to expire on October 9, 2013. After the expiration date, exemptive relief from the Clearing Requirement will no longer be available for an entity that is covered as a U.S. person under the CFTC's interpretive guidance and policy statement regarding the cross-border application of the swaps provisions of the CEA. This includes certain collective investment vehicles organized outside the U.S. Furthermore, the CFTC anticipates certain transactions to be submitted

CFTC has approved the application of Bloomberg SEF LLC ("BSEF") for temporary registration as a swap execution facility ("SEF"). BSEF is the first entity for which the Commission has issued temporary registration as a SEF. It may begin operating after August 5, 2013, the effective date of the SEF rules. Lofchie Comment: Notwithstanding the existence of a SEF, no products will yet be subject to mandatory SEF or exchange trading. See: CFTC Press Release; Bloomberg SEF Letter.

Jonathan L. Marcus, the general counsel for the CFTC, submitted a letter to the OMB on the Commission's fifth status update on "Phase One" of the CFTC's Plan for Retrospective Review of Agency Regulations. The update provides a summary of all the CFTC's final rules issued since the last status update in January 2013. These final rules establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the registration and operation of SEFs and DCMs, requiring joint identity theft prevention programs and detailing the process that adjudications will take. The following final rules were addressed: Final Rule

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, wrote an open letter to CFTC Chairman Gensler to clarify the agency's role and responsibilities regarding allegations that certain U.S. warehouses are delaying the delivery of purchased aluminum to profit from storage fees. The warehouses, which are overseen by a UK-based commodity exchange, are also allegedly distorting the market price of aluminum to their advantage. Chairwoman Stabenow is pressing the CFTC to investigate whether the acts violate the CEA. Lofchie Comment: In his testimony before the Senate (see

SIFMA issued a letter in response to a request by NYSE Euronext to provide additional information on the internal process and resources brokers dedicate to proxy operations. The letter builds on a document submitted by SIFMA whose focus was the costs of proxy processing, whereas this document focuses on the processes and operational tasks. SIFMA hopes to demonstrate through this document that broker-dealers utilize a broad range of internal processes and resources to support proxy distribution, and that these services are expensive to maintain. See: SIFMA Letter.