The Asset Management Group of SIFMA provided comments to the CFTC on the recent CFTC guidance and exemptive order relating to cross-border swap activities. The SIFMA letter, among other things: asks for additional time to comply with the "U.S. person" definition (until December 21, 2013 for assessment and identification and March 31, 2014 for compliance); seeks an explicit recognition by the CFTC that asset managers have the discretion to determine in good faith, based on the facts and circumstances that they deem most relevant, whether a fund's principal place of business is in the U.S.; asks

MFA and AIMA submitted a joint letter to the CFTC in response to its "Exemptive Order Regarding Compliance with Certain Swap Regulations." The letter asks for a delay in the reporting requirements that might otherwise apply to funds in three circumstances: (i) where a fund that will be deemed a "U.S. person" as of October 10, 2013 under the CFTC Guidance (an "October U.S. Fund") is transacting with an entity that intends to register on December 31, 1013; (ii) where an October U.S. Fund is transacting with a non-U.S. dealer that does not intend to register with the CFTC as of the end of the

The U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. designated November 25, 2013 at 9:30 A.M. as the date and time for oral arguments, relating to the CFTC's proposed position limits rules, in the case of ISDA and SIFMA v. CFTC. See: U.S. Court of Appeals Announcement. See also: ISDA v. CFTC: Court Vacates Position Limits Rule (with Lofchie Comment) (with music from the Eastern Institute of Technology) (September 28, 2012).

FINRA has filed a proposed rule change to amend FINRA Rule 5131 ("New Issue Allocation and Distributions") which is intended to prohibit "spinning": the practice of broker-dealers providing corporate insiders with preferential access to new issue stock in exchange for such insiders directing investment banking business to the relevant broker-dealer. The proposed rule amendment would somewhat simplify the compliance burden on broker-dealers selling new issue stock to private funds and correspondingly would simplify the compliance burdens on private funds seeking to purchase such stock. See

The CFTC announced an Interpretation concerning its authority over retail commodity transactions, as provided by Section 2(c)(2)(D) ("Retail Commodity Transactions") of the CEA. The Interpretation clarifies the CFTC's view of the meaning of "actual delivery" under Section 2(c)(2)(D). See: 78 FR 52426; CFTC Press Release.