CFTC Staff Letters

The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight provided no-action relief to the general partner of a commodity pool from registering as a CPO under Section 4m(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act, and allowed an affiliated, registered CPO (“designee”) to serve as the CPO of the pool instead, where, among other things: (1) the general partner and the designee are under common ownership and control; (2) the general partner has delegated all of its management authority to the designee; (3) the general partner does not engage in the solicitation of investors for the pool and does not manage property of the pool; and (4) the general partner and designee executed and submitted to the Division a written acknowledgement of joint and several liability for any violation by either of them of the Act or the Commission’s regulations.

The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight provided no-action relief to the general partner of a commodity pool from registering as a CPO under Section 4m(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act, and allowed an affiliated, registered CPO (“designee”) to serve as the CPO of the pool instead, where, among other things: (1) the general partner and the designee are under common ownership and control; (2) the general partner has delegated all of its management authority to the designee; (3) the general partner does not engage in the solicitation of investors for the pool and does not manage property of the pool; and (4) the general partner and designee executed and submitted to the Division a written acknowledgement of joint and several liability for any violation by either of them of the Act or the Commission’s regulations.

No-Action relief request of BM&F Bovespa S.A. – Bolsa de Valores, Mercadorias e Futuros, in connection with the offer and sale in the United States of its futures contracts based on the Ibovespa Index.

The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight took a CPO registration no-action position with respect to the trustee of a commodity pool where the trustee had no authority to perform CPO functions, and a separate registered CPO was authorized to perform such functions. The Division further granted exemptive relief from certain of the Part 4 regulations to the registered CPO of a commodity pool, whose shares the CPO intended to publicly offer and to list for trading on a national securities exchange. As is discussed in the letter, this relief was in the nature of substituted compliance with those regulations. Finally, the Division granted exemptive relief from certain of the Part 4 regulations to the registered CTA of a commodity pool where the CTA was an affiliate of the pool’s CPO.

The Division of Market Oversight issued a letter amending the no-action relief granted November 12, 1999, permitting the International Petroleum Exchange of London Limited (now ICE Futures Europe) to make its electronic trading and order matching system available to its members in the US without obtaining contract market designation pursuant to Sections 5 and 5a of the CEA. The amendment adds additional conditions to ICE Futures Europe’s no-action relief for contracts that it lists that settle against any price of (1) a contract listed for trading on a DCM or DTEF, or (2) a contract listed for trading on an exempt commercial market that has been determined to be a significant price discovery contract. The additional conditions are that ICE Futures Europe provide CFTC staff trade execution and audit trail data for all linked contracts, copies of, or hyperlinks to, all rules, rule amendments, circulars and other notices published by the exchange, and copies of all Disciplinary Notices involving the linked contracts; provide for CFTC on-site visits to examine ICE Futures Europe’s ongoing compliance with its no-action relief; and in the event that the CFTC, directs that NYMEX take emergency action with respect to a linked contract (e.g., to cease trading in the contract), ICE Futures Europe, subject to information-sharing arrangements between the CFTC and FSA, will promptly take similar action with respect to the linked contract at ICE Futures Europe.

The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight provided no-action relief to the general partner of a commodity pool from registering as a CPO under Section 4m(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act, and allowed an affiliated, registered CPO (“designee”) to serve as the CPO of the pool instead, where, among other things: (1) the general partner and the designee are under common ownership and control; (2) the general partner has delegated all of its management authority to the designee; (3) the general partner does not engage in the solicitation of investors for the pool and does not manage property of the pool; and (4) the general partner and designee executed and submitted to the Division a written acknowledgement of joint and several liability for any violation by either of them of the Act or the Commission’s regulations.

The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight provided no-action relief to the general partner of a commodity pool from registering as a CPO under Section 4m(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act, and allowed an affiliated, registered CPO (“designee”) to serve as the CPO of the pool instead, where, among other things: (1) the general partner and the designee are under common ownership and control; (2) the general partner has delegated all of its management authority to the designee; (3) the general partner does not engage in the solicitation of investors for the pool and does not manage property of the pool; and (4) the general partner and designee executed and submitted to the Division a written acknowledgement of joint and several liability for any violation by either of them of the Act or the Commission’s regulations.

Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited’s Request for No-Action Relief in Connection with the Offer and Sale of its Mini Futures Contracts Based on the Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index in the United States.

The Division of Market Oversight issued a no-action letter to BNP Paribas confirming that the Division will not recommend that the Commission initiate enforcement action against BNP Paribas or Fortis Bank S.A./N.V., or their respective affiliates, for violation of Commission or exchange speculative position limits, to the extent any such violation results from the application of the Commission’s aggregation policy and rules to the acquisition by BNP Paribas of Fortis Bank. The no-action relief applies only to aggregated positions created by the acquisition by BNP Paribas of Fortis Bank and is subject to the following conditions: (1) BNP Paribas and Fortis Bank must proceed promptly following the acquisition to verify compliance with applicable limits or to identify and implement, not later than January 15, 2009, any measures that may be necessary to ensure compliance prospectively with applicable limits, and (2) BNP Paribas and Fortis Bank must not, following the acquisition and prior to January 15, 2009, further add to any aggregated positions found not to be in compliance with Commission or exchange speculative position limits.

Korea Exchanges Request for No-Action Relief in Connection with the Offer and Sale in the United States of its Futures Contract Based on the KOSPI 200 Stock Index Futures Contract.