05.31.2012
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Updates
New CFTC Final Rule on Pre-Dodd-Frank and Transition Swaps
On Friday, May 18, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") approved a final rule on swap data recordkeeping and reporting requirements for counterparties to swaps executed prior to passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") and those entered into between the law’s enactment date and the applicable compliance date for swap data recordkeeping and reporting. The rule specifies what records must be kept and what data must be reported.
CFTC Proposes New Aggregation Rule for Futures and Swaps Limits
On Friday, May 18, 2012, the CFTC approved a notice of proposed rulemaking that would modify the CFTC’s aggregation provisions for limits on speculative positions. The proposed rulemaking would permit any person with a greater than 10 percent ownership or equity interest in an entity to disaggregate the owned entity’s positions, provided there are protections and firewalls in place to ensure trading decisions are made independently of one another.
Rules and Guidance on CFTC and SEC Swap Definitions
On Wednesday, May 23, 2012, the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission, in consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Fed"), adopted new rules and interpretive guidance under the Commodity Exchange Act (the "CEA") and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") pursuant to Sections 721 and 761 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The rules and interpretive guidance further define the terms "swap dealer," "security-based swap dealer," "major swap participant," "major security-based swap participant," and "eligible contract participant" as the terms are used in the CEA and Exchange Act.
New Fed Rule for Securities Holding Companies
On Wednesday, May 30, 2012, the Fed announced the approval of a final rule outlining the procedures for securities holding companies ("SHCs") to elect to be supervised by the Fed pursuant to Section 618 of the Dodd-Frank Act. An SHC is a nonbank company that owns at least one registered broker or dealer. The Dodd-Frank Act eliminated the previous supervision framework that applied to SHCs under the Securities and Exchange Commission and permitted SHCs to be supervised by the Fed. An SHC may seek supervision by the Fed to meet requirements by a regulator in another country that the firm be subject to comprehensive, consolidated supervision in the United States in order to operate in that other country.
© 2012 Perkins Coie LLP
