CFTC's Division of Market Oversight ("DMO") has provided additional information pertaining to its existing no-action (CFTC Letter No. 12-46) relief for reporting parties under CFTC Rules Parts 20, 45 and 46. The additional information provided specifies that reporting parties eligible for relief pursuant to CFTC Letter No. 12-46 may meet the Letter's requirement for a "written opinion of outside legal counsel" through a legal memorandum from outside legal counsel that includes the following attestation: "We confirm that the rigor of the analysis we provided in our memorandum was no less

The CFTC's Division of Clearing and Risk ("DCR") issued a letter stating that DCR will not recommend that the CFTC take action against Singapore Exchange Derivatives Clearing Limited ("SGX-DC") for failing to register as a derivatives clearing organization ("DCO") under CEA Section 5b(a), and will not recommend action against SGX-DC's clearing members for failing to register as futures commission merchants ("FCMs") under CEA Section 4d(f)(1). This relief is in relation to the clearing and carrying of existing or new positions in certain commodity swaps for U.S. customers. This relief will be

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") today issued a letter providing that the Division will not recommend that the CFTC take enforcement action against the CPOs of investment pools that invest in securitization vehicles that comply with the terms of the no-action relief set forth in the 12-45 letter. Lofchie Comment: The issue arose because in Letter 12-45, the CFTC had provided that the operators of certain securitization vehicles were not required to register as CPOs, but maintained that the vehicles were themselves pools. While this approach was acceptable as

The OCC had published in the Federal Register on October 9, 2012, a final rule that implements Section 165(i) of the Dodd-Frank Act that requires certain companies to conduct annual stress tests pursuant to regulations prescribed by their respective primary financial regulatory agencies. Specifically, this rule requires national banks and federal savings associations with total consolidated assets over $10 billion (covered institutions) to conduct an annual stress test as prescribed by the rule. The published table sets out some of the deadlines for the conduct of stress tests and other

The SEC announced the agenda for its upcoming staff roundtable that will evaluate the impact of tick sizes on the securities markets. The roundtable will take place on February 5th in Washington D.C. Panelists will be finalized and announced at a later date. See below for agenda: Panel 1 - Evaluating Concerns Relating to Tick Size for Small and Middle Capitalization Companies; Panel 2 - Evaluating Concerns Relating to Tick Size for the Securities Market Generally; and Panel 3 - Studying the Effects of Alternative Tick Sizes. View Press Release in full here (links externally to SEC website).