Virtual currency presents risks to futures commission merchants (FCMs) when deposited by futures customers or cleared swaps customers to margin futures, options on futures, or cleared swap transactions, according to an...more
The CFTC issues stringent guidelines for FCMs seeking to custody digital assets in connection with physically delivered futures contracts or swaps. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) Division of Swap...more
On September 11, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the Division of Swap Dealer Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) and the Division of Market Oversight (DMO) are further extending certain elements of the...more
On August 31, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) announced relief for swap dealers (SD) and other market participants related to the industry-wide transition from swaps that reference the...more
In response to the global COVID-19 crisis, US federal financial regulators are taking important actions that affect US and non-US financial institutions, other financial services providers, consumers, and the US and global...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued industry-wide no-action relief for registered commodity pool operators on March 20, 2020, to permit those CPOs additional time to make certain regulatory filings and issue...more
Many Commodity Futures Trading Commission registrants and other market participants are responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by implementing business continuity plans that move personnel from their “normal...more
On March 17, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) has issued a series of eight staff letters which will facilitate the functioning of the derivatives markets during the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions will assist...more
The CFTC announced the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) has issued a number of no-action letters providing temporary, targeted relief to futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, swap...more
Product innovation (including in pooled investment vehicles) is encouraged, but innovation must be consistent with the law. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary...more
The CFTC DSIO Division Director issued a statement reminding the industry that pooled investment vehicles that trade futures, swaps, and other commodity interests that reference digital assets like Bitcoin and stablecoins are...more
While not unlimited, the relief is welcome for counterparties seeking to transition to risk-free rates for legacy swaps. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued no-action relief to help market...more
Over the past five years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has settled 20 enforcement actions against financial institutions for violations of various Dodd-Frank Act regulatory requirements (i.e., rules other...more
On December 4, the CFTC issued an advisory (Staff Advisory 19-24) providing further guidance on certain requirements applicable to swap dealers, futures commission merchants and major swap participants (collectively,...more
In late September, the director of the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Joshua Sterling, announced a new examination program for commodity pool...more
Director Joshua B. Sterling of the CFTC’s Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO or Division) delivered several speeches in September and early October 2019, setting forth certain guiding principles and the...more
In a regulatory first, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced its 2019 examination priorities for registrants of the Division of Market Oversight (DMO), the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary...more
On February 12, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) published for the first time its examination priorities for the coming year. The release of the priorities will provide legal and compliance...more
On February 12, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) published the 2019 examination priorities for its Division of Market Oversight (DMO), Division of Swap Dealer & Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) and Division...more
On August 28, 2018, the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“DSIO“) announced “conditional, time-limited no-action relief to a banking entity for not counting...more
CFTC Reduces Marketplace Barriers for Global Development Initiatives - On May 16, 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's ("CFTC") Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") granted relief to...more
On May 21, 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced two actions intended to increase surveillance of virtual currency markets and enforcement of the Commodity Exchange Act in relation to these markets....more
On May 16, 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC“) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (“DSIO“) granted relief to non-U.S. counterparties who enter into swaps with International Financial...more