2011-10884

Federal Register, Volume 76 Issue 86 (Wednesday, May 4, 2011)[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 4, 2011)]

[Proposed Rules]

[Pages 25274-25277]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[FR Doc No: 2011-10884]

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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION

17 CFR Chapter I

Reopening and Extension of Comment Periods for Rulemakings

Implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection

Act

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Reopening and extension of comment periods.

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SUMMARY: Since the enactment of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer

Protection Act (the ``Dodd-Frank Act'') on July 21, 2010, the Commodity

Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'') has published in the

Federal Register a significant number of notices of proposed rulemaking

to implement the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that establish a

comprehensive new framework for the regulation of swaps. In order to

provide interested parties with an additional opportunity to

participate in these Dodd-Frank Act rulemakings and comment on the

proposed new regulatory framework, the Commission is reopening or

extending the comment period for many of its proposed rulemakings. The

Commission is also requesting comment on the order in which it should

consider final rulemakings made under the Dodd-Frank Act.

DATES: For those rulemakings listed herein for which the comment period

has closed at the time of publication of this notice, the comment

period is re-opened until June 3, 2011. For those rulemakings listed

herein for which the comment period closes during the extension's

comment period, the comment period is extended until June 3, 2011. The

comment period of any rulemaking subject of this extension that closes

after the extension's comment period shall remain open until the

originally published closing date. All comments that were received

after the close of the originally established comment period of each of

the reopened rulemakings will be treated as if they were received

during the reopened comment periods and need not be resubmitted.

The comment period regarding the order in which the Commission

should consider final rules will be open until June 3, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Agency Web site, via its Comments Online process at http://comments.cftc.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments

through the Web site, and submit all comments through the ``submit

comment'' link associated with this extension.

Mail: Send to David A. Stawick, Secretary, Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20581.

Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as mail above.

Please submit your comments using only one method. You may submit

comments on individual rulemakings subject of this extension, on the

intersection of more than one rulemaking, or on the proposed

rulemakings from a global perspective. Comments may be submitted on any

individual rulemaking, on any combination of rulemakings, or on the

order and timing of the Commission's final rulemakings, including the

effective and compliance dates that may be appropriate for the various

rulemakings.

To ensure that your comments are considered to the fullest extent

possible by the Commission, you should identify each of the proposed

rulemakings to which your comment applies by providing the name and RIN

number associated with each rulemaking. Rulemaking RIN numbers may be

found on the Commission's Web site at http://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/ReleasesWithComments.aspx. Comments that address the

rulemakings from a global perspective should be identified with the

phrase ``global comment'' in the subject line. Additionally, as

provided above, all comments submitted through the Commission's

Comments Online process should be transmitted via the ``submit

comment'' link associated with this rulemaking. You need not, and to

ensure that all comments addressing more than one rulemaking are

[[Page 25275]]

considered fully by the Commission you should not, submit comments

addressing more than one rulemaking to any of the individual

rulemakings listed on the Commission's ``public comments'' or ``open

comment periods'' Web pages.

All comments must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied

by an English translation. Comments will be posted as received to

http://www.cftc.gov. You should submit only information that you wish

to make available publicly. If you wish the Commission to consider

information that may be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of

Information Act, a petition for confidential treatment of the exempt

information may be submitted according to the procedures established in

Sec. 145.9 of the Commission's regulations, 17 CFR 145.9.

The Commission reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to

review, pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse or remove any or all of your

submission from http://www.cftc.gov that it may deem to be

inappropriate for publication, such as obscene language. All

submissions that have been redacted or removed that contain comments on

the merits of the rulemaking will be retained in the public comment

file and will be considered as required under the Administrative

Procedure Act and other applicable laws, and may be accessible under

the Freedom of Information Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: On this release, Beverly E. Loew,

Assistant General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC

20581; 202-418-5648; or bloew@cftc.gov. On any particular rulemaking,

the Commission staff members listed in the associated notice of

proposed rulemaking.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act on July 21, 2010.\1\

Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act \2\ amended the Commodity Exchange Act

(``CEA'') \3\ to establish a comprehensive new regulatory framework for

swaps and security-based swaps. The legislation was enacted to reduce

risk, increase transparency, and promote market integrity within the

financial system by, among other things: (1) Providing for the

registration and comprehensive regulation of swap dealers and major

swap participants; (2) imposing clearing and trade execution

requirements on standardized derivative products; (3) creating robust

recordkeeping and real-time reporting regimes; and (4) enhancing the

Commission's rulemaking and enforcement authorities with respect to,

among others, all registered entities and intermediaries subject to the

Commission's oversight.

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\1\ See Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection

Act, Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010). The text of the

Dodd-Frank Act may be accessed at http://www.cftc.gov./

LawRegulation/OTCDERIVATIVES/index.htm.

\2\ Pursuant to section 701 of the Dodd-Frank Act, title VII may

be cited as the ``Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of

2010.''

\3\ 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.

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Over the past several months the Commission has proposed a number

of rulemakings to implement the Dodd-Frank Act. With respect to these

rulemakings, the Commission has consulted and coordinated with the

Securities and Exchange Commission and other Federal regulators, held

hundreds of meetings with market participants and other members of the

public interested in the proposed rulemakings, and received thousands

of comments on these proposed rulemakings. At this point, the

regulatory requirements that have been proposed by the Commission

present a substantially complete mosaic of the Commission's proposed

regulatory framework for swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act.

II. Reopening and Extension of Comment Periods and Request for Comment

In light of this substantially complete mosaic, the Commission is

reopening or extending the comment period of many of its proposed

rulemakings in order to provide the public with an additional

opportunity to comment on the proposed new regulatory framework for

swaps, either in part or as a whole.

The Commission also specifically seeks comments on the costs and

benefits of the proposed rulemakings, individually, in combination, or

globally. In particular, the Commission reiterates its request for

additional quantitative or qualitative information relating to the

costs and benefits of the proposed rules.

The comment periods for the following rulemakings are being

extended:

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Proposed Title of rulemaking Closed

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10/14/2010................. Financial Resources 12/13/2010

Requirements for

Derivatives Clearing

Organizations.

10/18/2010................. Requirements for 11/17/2010

Derivatives Clearing

Organizations, Designated

Contract Markets, and Swap

Execution Facilities

Regarding the Mitigation

of Conflicts of Interest.

10/26/2010................. Agricultural Commodity 11/26/2010

Definition.

11/2/2010.................. Process for Review of Swaps 1/3/2011

for Mandatory Clearing.

11/3/2010.................. Investment of Customer 12/3/2010

Funds and Funds Held in an

Account for Foreign

Futures and Foreign

Options Transactions.

11/17/2010................. Implementation of Conflicts 1/18/2011

of Interest Policies and

Procedures by Futures

Commission Merchants and

Introducing Brokers.

11/19/2010................. Registration of Foreign 1/18/2011

Boards of Trade.

11/19/2010................. Designation of a Chief 1/18/2011

Compliance Officer;

Required Compliance

Policies; and Annual

Report of a Futures

Commission Merchant, Swap

Dealer, or Major Swap

Participant.

11/23/2010................. Regulations Establishing 1/24/2011

and Governing the Duties

of Swap Dealers and Major

Swap Participants.

11/23/2010................. Implementation of Conflicts 1/24/2011

of Interest Policies and

Procedures by Swap Dealers

and Major Swap

Participants.

11/23/2010................. Registration of Swap 1/24/2011

Dealers and Major Swap

Participants.

12/3/2010.................. Protection of Collateral of 2/1/2011

Counterparties to

Uncleared Swaps; Treatment

of Securities in a

Portfolio Margining

Account in a Commodity

Broker Bankruptcy.

12/7/2010.................. Real-Time Public Reporting 2/7/2011

of Swap Transaction Data.

12/8/2010.................. Swap Data Recordkeeping and 2/7/2011

Reporting Requirements.

12/9/2010.................. Reporting, Recordkeeping, 2/7/2011

and Daily Trading Records

Requirements for Swap

Dealers and Major Swap

Participants.

12/13/2010................. General Regulations and 2/11/2011

Derivatives Clearing

Organizations.

12/15/2010................. Information Management 2/14/2011

Requirements for

Derivatives Clearing

Organizations.

[[Page 25276]]

12/21/2010................. 17 CFR Part 1 Securities 2/22/2011

and Exchange Commission 17

CFR Part 240 Further

Definition of ``Swap

Dealer,'' ``Security-Based

Swap Dealer,'' ``Major

Swap Participant,''

``Major Security-Based

Swap Participant'' and

``Eligible Contract

Participant''.

12/22/2010................. Business Conduct Standards 2/22/2011

for Swap Dealers and Major

Swap Participants With

Counterparties.

12/22/2010................. Core Principles and Other 4/18/2011

Requirements for

Designated Contract

Markets.

12/23/2010................. Swap Data Repositories..... 2/22/2011

12/23/2010................. End-User Exception to 2/22/2011

Mandatory Clearing of

Swaps.

12/28/2010................. Confirmation, Portfolio 2/28/2011

Reconciliation, and

Portfolio Compression

Requirements for Swap

Dealers and Major Swap

Participants.

1/6/2011................... Governance Requirements for 3/7/2011

Derivatives Clearing

Organizations, Designated

Contract Markets, and Swap

Execution Facilities;

Additional Requirements

Regarding the Mitigation

of Conflicts of Interest.

1/7/2011................... Core Principles and Other 3/8/2011

Requirements for Swap

Execution Facilities.

1/20/2011.................. Risk Management 4/25/2011

Requirements for

Derivatives Clearing

Organizations.

2/3/2011................... Commodity Options and 4/4/2011

Agricultural Swaps.

2/8/2011................... Swap Trading Relationship 4/11/2011

Documentation Requirements

for Swap Dealers and Major

Swap Participants.

2/8/2011................... Orderly Liquidation 4/11/2011

Termination Provision in

Swap Trading Relationship

Documentation for Swap

Dealers and Major Swap

Participants.

3/3/2011................... Amendments to Commodity 5/2/2011

Pool Operator and

Commodity Trading Advisor

Regulations Resulting From

the Dodd-Frank Act.

3/9/2011................... Registration of 5/9/2011

Intermediaries.

3/10/2011.................. Requirements for 4/11/2011

Processing, Clearing, and

Transfer of Customer

Positions.

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Notwithstanding the foregoing, commenters may submit, and the

Commission will consider, comments on any aspects of the rulemakings,

including comments on individual rulemakings subject of this extension,

on the intersection of any combination of these rulemakings, or on the

proposed rulemakings from a global perspective. All comments that were

received after the close of the originally established comment period

of each of the reopened rulemakings will be treated as if they were

received during the reopened comment periods and need not be

resubmitted.

Finally, the Commission is requesting comment on the order in which

it should consider the Dodd-Frank final rulemakings.

Issued in Washington, DC, this 27th day of April 2010, by the

Commission.

David A. Stawick,

Secretary of the Commission.

Appendices to Reopening and Extension of Comment Periods for

Rulemakings Implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer

Protection Act--Commission Voting Summary and Statements of

Commissioners

Note: The following appendices will not appear in the Code of

Federal Regulations.

Appendix 1--Commission Voting Summary

On this matter, Chairman Gensler and Commissioners Dunn, Chilton

and O'Malia voted in the affirmative; Commissioner Sommers voted in

the negative.

Appendix 2--Statement of Commissioner Scott D. O'Malia

I concur with the Commission's proposal to re-open the comment

period for certain proposed rulemakings made under the Dodd-Frank

Act and to request comment on the sequencing of the Commission's

consideration of final rules. Following careful consideration of

comments regarding the sequencing, the Commission should publish in

the Federal Register the order in which it intends to take up

consideration of the Dodd-Frank final rules. Doing so will help

ensure that our processes are fully transparent and well informed.

Similarly, I strongly urge the Commission to propose a full

implementation schedule, request comment and publish an adopted

schedule in the Federal Register so that the market and public will

have the certainty they need to make budgeting, investment and

hiring decisions. Commenters should urge the Commission to publish a

full implementation schedule by submitting comments to this

rulemaking.

In order to facilitate debate, I have proposed the following

sequencing of the Commission's consideration of final rules. I

strongly recommend that the public comment on this proposal or

recommend an alternative.

Phase I

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Memorandums of

Understanding

Whistleblower

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Rules

Reliance on Credit Ratings

Swap Data Repository

Data Recordkeeping

Large Trader reporting

Investment advisor reporting

Pre-enactment & Transition swaps

Governance of SDRs

Process to define a clearable swap

Phase II

Swap Dealer (SD)/Major Swap Participant (MSP)

End-User Exemption

SD/MSP Registration

Small Bank Exemption Rule

Business Conduct Standards for SD/MSP

Internal business conduct

Documentation

Conflicts of Interest

Capital and Margin

External Business conduct

Inter-Affiliate Transactions

Products Rules

Agricultural Swaps

Swaps

Agricultural commodity definition

Phase III

Position Limits

Clearing

Designated Clearing Organization (DCO) Core Principles

Systemically Important Designated Clearing Organizations

(SIDCOs)

Governance of DCO

Execution

Real-time Reporting

Swaps Execution Facility (SEF) & Block Trade Rule

Designated Contract Market (DCM)

Foreign Board of Trade (FBOT)

Part 40 Rule Certification

Governance of SEFs & DCMs

Phase IV

Clearing

Rule 1.25

Segregation and Bankruptcy

Portfolio Margining

Anti-Manipulation

Disruptive Trading

Volker Rule 619

Commodity Pool Operator (CPO)/

Commodity Trading Adviser (CTA) Registration & conduct rules

[[Page 25277]]

All Conforming Rules

[FR Doc. 2011-10884 Filed 5-3-11; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6351-01-P

Last Updated: May 4, 2011