CFTC's DMO Issues Time-Limited No-Action Relief for Temporarily Registered SEFs (with Lofchie Comment)

The CFTC Division of Market Oversight issued a no-action letter providing temporarily registered swap execution facilities ("SEFs") with relief from the transaction confirmation requirement in CFTC Rule 37.6(b) for swaps that are not intended to be submitted for clearing.The relief expires on October 30, 2013, for non-cleared swaps in the foreign exchange, interest rate and credit asset classes; and no later than December 2, 2013, for non-cleared swaps executed in the equity and other commodity asset classes.

Lofchie Comment: This letter is subject to conditions, including that the SEF notify the parties that it is not sending them a confirmation. The SEF is also required to collect transaction data from market participants even though the SEF cannot confirm the trade. The paragraph in which this latter requirement is contained concludes with the following sentence: "This is covered by an approved Paperwork Reduction Act collection." I hope that the line was added by a CFTC staffer with a sense of humor.

See: CFTC No-Action Letter 13-58; CFTC Press Release.