News Centre

Statement Of CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert In Support Of Margin Relief For The European Stability Mechanism

Date 14/04/2020

I am pleased to support today’s final rule codifying relief from the Margin Rule for the European Stability Mechanism (“ESM”). The Margin Rule requires the posting of initial and variation margin for uncleared swaps entered into by certain swap dealers, major swap participants, and “financial end user[s].” Today’s final rule will amend the definition of “financial end user” in Regulation 23.151 to exclude the ESM from the requirements of the Margin Rule. 

Statement Of CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert In Support Of Proposed Amendments To The Part 50 Clearing Requirement

Date 14/04/2020

I am pleased to support today’s proposal to amend the CFTC’s Part 50 rules, which implement the swap clearing requirement of section 2(h)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act (the “Clearing Requirement”).  The proposed Part 50 amendments would create new regulations 50.75 and 50.76, which would codify existing exemptions from the Clearing Requirement for swaps entered into with certain central banks, sovereign entities, and international financial institutions.

Statement Of CFTC Commissioner Dan M. Berkovitz On Proposed Rule To Amend Form CPO-PQR Reporting Requirements For Commodity Pool Operators

Date 14/04/2020

I am voting in favor of this proposed rule to amend Regulation 4.27 and Form CPO-PQR (“Proposal”).  The information in Form CPO-PQR that no longer would be required under the Proposal has not proven to be useful to the Commission in identifying or measuring systemic or idiosyncratic risk.

Concurring Statement Of CFTC Commissioner Rostin Behnam Regarding Amendments To Compliance Requirements For Commodity Pool Operators And Form

Date 14/04/2020

I respectfully concur with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (the “Commission” or “CFTC”) issuance of a proposed rule (the “Proposal”) to amend Regulation 4.27 and Form CPO-PQR.  In devising the Proposal, Commission staff judiciously evaluated several years of returns on the Commission’s collection of detailed data from commodity pool operators (CPOs)—data anticipated to provide valuable insights to both the Commission and the Financial Stability Oversight Counsel (FSOC) as we collectively moved into a new era of Wall Street reform on the heels of the 2008 financial crisis.  In my view, the general conclusion that the Proposal elucidates: the information collected in the current Form CPO-PQR as well as its frequency of collection is simply not fit for purpose. 

Statement Of Support By CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz Regarding Amendments To Compliance Requirements For Commodity Pool Operators On Form CPO-PQR

Date 14/04/2020

I support today’s proposal that would simplify and streamline the reporting obligations of commodity pool operators (CPOs) on Form CPO-PQR.  The proposal would eliminate much of existing Schedules B and C, which together contain roughly 72 distinct questions, if one includes all the separately identifiable subparts.  Many of these questions are challenging for CPOs to calculate precisely and require numerous underlying assumptions that vary from firm to firm, making it difficult, if not impossible, for the Commission to perform an apples-to-apples comparison across the commodity pool industry.

Statement Of CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert In Support Of Revising Form CPO-PQR

Date 14/04/2020

The esteemed 19th century mathematician Charles Babbage asked “if you put into the machine the wrong figures, will the right answers come out?”[1]  Baggage foresaw what would evolve in the 20thcentury as the “garbage-in, garbage-out” predicament—a potential pitfall now only magnified in the 21stcentury by the combination of computing technology and vast amounts of data.  Since becoming Chairman, I have prioritized improving the CFTC’s approach to collecting data.  As a federal agency, we must be selective about the data we collect, and then make sure we are actually making good use of the data for its intended purpose. 

Deferral Of IIROC Fees Payable By Small And Medium-Sized Dealer Members

Date 14/04/2020

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) recognizes the significant impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on Canadians, the economy and the overall investment industry. As the pan-Canadian regulator for IIROC-regulated investment firms and registrants, we have taken a number of measures to support healthy capital markets and to provide relief to Dealer Members so that they can serve Canadians during these challenging times.

Statement Of CFTC Commissioner Dan M. Berkovitz On Proposed Amendments To CFTC Bankruptcy Regulations

Date 14/04/2020

Introduction

I support the proposed comprehensive amendments to the Commission’s bankruptcy regulations.  These regulations specifically address the disposition of assets, particularly customer property, of a bankrupt futures commission merchant (FCM) or derivatives clearing organization (DCO).  The amendments provide a needed update to regulations that the Commission originally adopted in 1983 to account for significant changes in the size, complexity, and structure of our derivatives markets and market participants over the past 37 years.  They also incorporate “lessons learned” from FCM bankruptcies during that period.  FCM bankruptcies are rare, and a registered DCO has never gone bankrupt in the history of the CFTC.  It is nonetheless important to make the bankruptcy process as effective and efficient as possible to protect, preserve, and return customer assets quickly.

BME Acquires Protective Material To Help The Spanish Armed Forces In Their Fight Against COVID19

Date 14/04/2020

• It has purchased face masks, protective overalls and nitrile gloves worth 1 million euros for the members of the Armed Forces involved in the 'Operation Balmis'

Statement Of CFTC Commissioner Dawn D. Stump Regarding CFTC Open Meeting On April 14, 2020

Date 14/04/2020

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) CFTC may have only recently established core values in an official manner, but they have long-existed within the agency.  Over the past month, the CFTC has done a remarkable job of demonstrating those core values of commitment, forward-thinking, teamwork, and clarity.