The Joint Audit Committee has published guidance (Guidance) with respect to the appropriate account documentation required for futures commission merchants (FCMs) to substantiate a grant of discretionary trading authority for...more
MIECO LLC v. Pioneer Nat. Res. USA, Inc. -
May a seller of energy invoke force majeure to excuse its non-performance under a delivery contract – a contract that obligates the seller to deliver a particular quantity of...more
On September 27, 2022, 15 broker-dealers and one investment adviser agreed to pay more than $1.8 billion in total civil penalties to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and, for those same companies or affiliates...more
10/5/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps ,
Text Messages
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed requiring the operators of centralized wholesale power markets to collect and provide to FERC a broad range of market participant data, including (i) each market...more
10/17/2015
/ Affiliates ,
Asset Management ,
C-Suite Executives ,
CFTC ,
Comment Period ,
Data Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FERC ,
Investors ,
ISOs ,
Lenders ,
Market Manipulation ,
Power Plants ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Utility ,
Reporting Requirements ,
RTO ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Transmission Grid ,
Wholesale
On January 16, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a settlement order requiring Summit Energy Services, Inc. (Summit Energy) to pay a $140,000 civil monetary penalty for acting as an unregistered commodity...more
For the past several years, low interest rates and higher commodity prices have resulted in generally favorable financial conditions in the energy sector, keeping energy bankruptcy activity to a minimum. With the recent sharp...more
1/30/2015
Toward the end of 2014, the staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued two letters affecting insurance-linked securitization vehicles: CFTC...more
On January 8, 2015, the U.S. Senate approved legislation, by a 93-4 vote, to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (“TRIA”). The legislation, dubbed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (the...more
1/12/2015
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Covered Entities ,
Major Swap Participants ,
Margin Requirements ,
Pending Legislation ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps ,
Terrorism Insurance ,
TRIA
On November 24, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) issued a no-action letter to expand previously issued relief, that is available to “treasury affiliates,” from the...more
On November 10, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a consultation paper relating to the Regulatory Technical Standards and Implementing Technical Standards (collectively, the Technical Standards),...more
On October 31, the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (Division) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a staff interpretation regarding the notification of the right to segregation of...more
On October 1, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) with respect to the central clearing of four classes of interest rate swaps (IRS). The RTS follows...more
On September 3, 2014, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) jointly adopted, with certain federal banking regulators, re-proposed rules that will require registered swap dealers, security-based swap...more
9/25/2014
/ Banks ,
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) ,
CFTC ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Reserve ,
IOSCO ,
Major Swap Participants ,
Margin Requirements ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swap Market ,
Swaps
On June 19, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) published a long-awaited standard amendment to Section 2(a)(iii) of the ISDA Master Agreement (the Master Agreement). Section 2(a)(iii) of the Master...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will host a public roundtable on June 19, 2014, to discuss questions related to a proposed rulemaking to establish speculative position limits for 28 exempt and agricultural...more
On June 5, the National Futures Association (NFA) announced the issuance of revised Forms CPO-PQR and CTA-PR. The NFA is the self-regulatory organization to which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has delegated...more
As noted in a previous Sutherland Legal Alert, the American Bankruptcy Institute has formed a Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 (the Commission). To further its goal of proposing changes to modernize the Bankruptcy...more
On May 12, 2014, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued a staff letter (the Staff Letter) that provides a streamlined approach for commodity pool...more
Last month, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a request for public comment on its swap data recordkeeping and reporting requirements under Part 45 of its regulations. The CFTC adopted Part 45 in 2012...more
Last week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) certified two additional available to trade determinations (MAT determinations). The latest MAT determinations cover additional interest rate swaps (IRS) and, for the...more
On January 23, 2014, the National Futures Association (NFA) issued a Request for Comments from commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs) as to whether the NFA should adopt rules to: (1) ensure that...more
On Thursday, January 23, 2014, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) certified a second available to trade determination (the Second MAT Determination) in response to an application submitted by trueEX, LLC. ...more
There were a number of new developments with respect to the cross-border application of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) requirements for swaps in the latter part of 2013. This...more
Pursuant to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulations, persons claiming an exemption or exclusion from registration as a commodity pool operator (CPO) or a commodity trading advisor (CTA), under CFTC Regulations...more
As market participants are aware, certain swaps that are subject to mandatory clearing must be executed on a registered swap execution facility (SEF) or a designated contract market (DCM) (i.e., an exchange) once a swap is...more