CFTC Staff Letters

Withdrawal of No-Action relief provided to Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, to operate a not-for-profit market for event contracts, and to offer event contracts to U.S. persons.

The Division of Clearing and Risk (“DCR”) recently received several inquiries regarding the implementation of amendments to Regulation 39.13(g)(8)(ii) that the Commission adopted on January 27, 2020 with a compliance date of January 27, 2021. In particular, some market participants asked whether it would be permissible under Regulation 39.13(g)(8)(ii) as revised for a futures commission merchant (FCM) to assess whether a customer account presents a “heightened risk profile,” and is therefore subject to additional initial margin requirements, based on whether the account is a hedging or speculative account if the FCM concludes that is an appropriate method of assessing risk. DCR is confirming that it would be permissible for an FCM to do so, provided that the FCM maintains policies and procedures that demonstrate this is the risk analysis the FCM will use when determining whether to collect additional initial margin from a given customer.

Approval letter issued to the National Futures Association with regard to Swap Dealer captial model requirements and review program.

Confirmation that Eurex Clearing AG has demonstrated compliance with the straight-through-processing requirements of Regulation 39.12(b)(7) and approval of certain Eurex rules.

Clarification on language in CFTC Staff Letter No. 13-51.