No-Action Letters

12-02 ; Part 20: Large Trader Reporting for Physical Commodity Swaps; No-Action
The Division of Market Oversight issued a letter to market participants providing temporary no-action relief for less than fully compliant reporting of positions based on ownership under the CFTC’s large trader reporting system for physical commodity swaps and swaptions. This temporary relief is intended to provide sufficient time for the industry to transition to fully compliant reporting for positions based on ownership by July 27, 2012. As a condition of this relief, market participants must submit, by July 30, 2012, fully compliant reports dating back to July 2, 2012.

12-03 ; Part 4: Registration and Compliance Obligations for CPOs and CTAs; No-Action
The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (“the Division”) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) today issued a notice of the availability of time-limited no action relief for commodity pool operators (“CPOs”) and commodity trading advisors (“CTAs”) who would have been exempt or excluded from registration but for the recent amendments to Regulations 4.13 and 4.5. The Division has determined not to recommend that the Commission take an enforcement action against CPOs or CTAs for failure to register as such until December 31, 2012, subject to certain requirements, including the filing of a notice with the Division. Once filed, this no-action relief is effective immediately.

12-04 ; Part 20: Large Trader Reporting for Physical Commodity Swaps; No-Action
The Division of Market Oversight issued a letter to market participants providing temporary no-action relief for reporting by non-clearing member swap dealers under the CFTC’s large trader reporting system for physical commodity swaps and swaptions. This temporary relief is intended to provide sufficient time for non-clearing member swap dealers to transition to fully compliant reporting by 60 days after the Commission’s deadline for entities to apply to register as swap dealers. In addition, the letter provides a further six months of no-action relief to non-clearing member swap dealers that satisfy the conditions of Section 20.10(e) of the Commission’s regulations.

12-05 ; Part 151: Position Limits for Futures and Swaps; No-Action
The Division of Market Oversight issued a letter to market participants providing temporary no-action relief in order to give effect to the Commission’s commitment to “coordinate the disposition” of a May 30, 2012 notice of proposed rulemaking regarding aggregation (“Aggregation Notice”) with the implementation of position limits under part 151 (“Position Limits Rule”), as well as “to provide an orderly transition to the compliance dates” for the Position Limits Rule. The no-action relief provides two alternative methods for compliance: (1) as if the Position Limits Rule were amended to include the provisions proposed in the Aggregation Notice; and (2) in conformity with the dis-aggregation criteria specified in the no-action relief. This temporary relief is intended to provide sufficient time for persons to transition to fully compliant aggregation by 60 days after the earlier of the date the Commission publishes a rule finalizing changes to the Commission’s aggregation policy or the date the Commission issues an order declining to take further action on the Aggregation Notice. The relief is time limited to no later than December 31, 2012.

12-06 ; Regulation 32.3 Trade Options; No-Action
The staff of the Division of Market Oversight issued a no-action letter providing that, for a limited time, market participants can rely on the trade option exemption in CFTC regulation 32.3 without complying with specified provisions thereof. The no action letter is effective until the earlier of December 31, 2012, or the effective date of any final action taken by the Commission in response to comments on the Trade Option Exemption Interim Final Rules (77 FR 25320). To rely on the no-action relief, market participants must comply with: (1) the conditions for qualifying as a “trade option” (§ 32.3(a)); (2) speculative position limits (§ 32.3(c)(2)); and (3) prohibitions on fraud, manipulation and other abusive trade practices (§ 32.3(d)).