17 CFR 3 - REGISTRATION

This document corrects language in the final rules published in the Federal Register of Thursday, January 19, 2012, regarding the Registration of Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants. The Commission adopted regulations under the Commodity Exchange Act (Act or CEA) that establish the process for the registration of swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs, and collectively with SDs, Swaps Entities) in accordance with section 4s of the CEA, which was added recently to the CEA by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is adopting regulations under the Commodity Exchange Act (Act or CEA) that establish the process for the registration of swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs, and collectively with SDs, Swaps Entities) and that require Swaps Entities to become and remain members of a registered futures association (RFA). The Commission is also adopting regulations that define an “associated person” of an SD or MSP as a natural person and that implement the prohibition on a Swaps Entity permitting an associated person who is statutorily disqualified from registration from effecting or being involved in effecting swaps on behalf of the Swaps Entity. The Commission is adopting these regulations in accordance with section 4s of the CEA, which was recently added to the CEA by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act).

This document corrects language in the final rules published in the Federal Register of Thursday, January 19, 2012, regarding the Registration of Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants. The Commission adopted regulations under the Commodity Exchange Act (Act or CEA) that establish the process for the registration of swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs, and collectively with SDs, Swaps Entities) in accordance with section 4s of the CEA, which was added recently to the CEA by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is adopting regulations under the Commodity Exchange Act (Act or CEA) that establish the process for the registration of swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs, and collectively with SDs, Swaps Entities) and that require Swaps Entities to become and remain members of a registered futures association (RFA). The Commission is also adopting regulations that define an “associated person” of an SD or MSP as a natural person and that implement the prohibition on a Swaps Entity permitting an associated person who is statutorily disqualified from registration from effecting or being involved in effecting swaps on behalf of the Swaps Entity. The Commission is adopting these regulations in accordance with section 4s of the CEA, which was recently added to the CEA by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act).

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) hereby proposes regulations to further implement new statutory provisions enacted by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) regarding registration of intermediaries. Specifically, the Commission proposes certain conforming amendments to the Commission's regulations regarding the registration of intermediaries, consistent with other Commission rulemakings issued pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act; and other modernizing and technical amendments to the regulations.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission” or “CFTC”) is charged with proposing rules to implement new statutory provisions enacted by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”). The Dodd-Frank Act provides that swaps in an agricultural commodity (as defined by the Commission) are prohibited unless entered into pursuant to a rule, regulation or order of the Commission adopted pursuant to Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA” or “Act”). The Dodd-Frank Act also includes options (other than an option on a futures contract) in its definition of swaps. Broadly speaking, the rules proposed herein would implement regulations whereby swaps in agricultural commodities and all commodity options (including options on both agricultural and non-agricultural commodities), other than options on futures, may transact subject to the same rules as all other swaps. The proposed rules for swaps in an agricultural commodity would repeal and replace the Commission's regulations concerning the exemption of swap agreements. Because the Dodd-Frank Act defines commodity options (other than options on futures) as swaps, the proposed rules for options would substantially amend the Commission's regulations regarding commodity option transactions. Also, current regulations on domestic exchange-traded commodity option transactions applies not only to exchange-traded options on futures (which are excluded from the Dodd-Frank definition of a swap), but also to exchange-traded options on physical commodities (which are within the Dodd-Frank swap definition). Therefore, the proposed rules would remove references to options on physical commodities from the Commission's regulations for exchange-traded options on futures.