Statement of Support: Interpretative Guidance Regarding the Confidentiality and Indemnification Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act

Chairman Gary Gensler

October 22, 2012

I support the final interpretative guidance regarding the confidentiality and indemnification provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act).

The confidentiality and indemnification provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act state that before a registered swap data repository (SDR) may share information with certain domestic and foreign regulators, those regulators must first agree in writing to abide by the confidentiality provisions of Section 8 of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act requires that regulators also must indemnify both the SDR and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) for any expenses arising from litigation relating to the information provided under Section 8 of the CEA.

The Commission recognizes the importance to foreign regulators of swap data reported under foreign regulatory regimes. The Commission’s final SDR rules specified that confidential swap data reported to and maintained by an SDR may be accessed by an “appropriate foreign regulator” without a confidentiality and indemnification agreement when the SDR is also registered with that foreign regulator.

To provide further clarity for foreign regulators, the Commission is issuing this interpretative guidance on the Dodd-Frank Act confidentiality and indemnification provisions. The final interpretative guidance makes clear that a foreign regulator will not be prevented from accessing data in which it has an independent and sufficient regulatory authority over the SDR and such data has been reported pursuant to the foreign jurisdiction’s regulatory regime.

With this interpretive guidance, the Commission has taken another important step to ensure appropriate access to SDRs by foreign regulatory authorities consistent with the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Last Updated: October 22, 2012