CFTC Staff Letters

Staff from the Division of Market Oversight and the Division of Clearing and Risk issued an Advisory, which helps provide clarity to certain market participants regarding certain statements made in the Final Order in Response to a Petition from Certain Independent system Operators and Regional Transmission Organizations to Exempt Specified Transactions Authorized by a Tariff or Protocol Approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or the Public Utility Commission of Texas from Certain Provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act Pursuant to the Authority Provided in the Act.

The CPO of a commodity pool operated pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief from the requirement in Regulations 4.7(b)(3) and 4.22(d)(1) that the financial statements in the pool’s annual report be audited. At the end of the 2013 fiscal year, the pool had just one participant, who also is a controlling principal of the CPO and oversees the daily operations of both the CPO and the pool. DSIO granted relief from the audit requirement for the 2013 annual report pursuant to Regulations 4.12(a) and 140.93, conditioned upon the filing of an uncertified annual report for the 2013 fiscal year that otherwise complies with the provisions of Regulation 4.7(b)(3).

No-Action Relief with Respect to Certain Commodity Exchange Act Provisions That May Apply to Southwest Power Pool, Inc. and/or Its Participants

The Division of Clearing and Risk issued a letter providing guidance to ASX Clear (Futures) Pty Limited (“ASXCLF”) regarding compliance with the condition to No-Action Letter 14-07, which requires ASXCLF to comply with the reporting obligations applicable to registered derivatives clearing organizations under the Commissions Part 45 regulations.

Conditional No-Action Relief with respect to Swaps Trading on Certain Multilateral Trading Facilities Overseen by Competent Authorities Designated by European Union Member States

Time-Limited No-Action Relief with respect to Swaps Trading on Certain Multilateral Trading Facilities Overseen by Competent Authorities Designated by European Union Member States

The CPO of a commodity pool operating pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief from the requirement in Regulation 4.7(b)(3) and 4.22(d) that the financial statements in the pools annual report be audited. The CPO submitted waivers from all of the pools participants evidencing their consent to the relief requested. DSIO granted relief pursuant to Commission regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) conditioned upon the filing and distribution of an uncertified Annual Report for fiscal year 2013 that otherwise complies with the provisions of Regulation 4.7(b)(3).

The CPO of two commodity pools operating pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief from the annual report requirement in Regulation 4.7(b)(3) to permit it to file an Annual Report for the pools for the period from their inception of trading, July 19, 2013, to December 31, 2014. The CPO submitted signed subscription documents from all seven participants, acknowledging the terms of the Pools’ offering memorandum, which included the CPO’s intent to file and distribute an 18-month Annual Report for the Pools’ first fiscal year. DSIO granted relief pursuant to Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) conditioned upon the future filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the period from July 19, 2013 to December 31, 2014, in compliance with Regulation 4.7(b)(3).

The Division is issuing a letter providing time-limited no-action relief to: (1) entities or counterparties transacting package transactions from the requirements of CEA section 2(h)(8); and (2) SEFs and DCMs, trading package transactions from the requirements of § 37.9 of the Commissions regulations and CEA section 5(d)(9), respectively, until 11:59 p.m. (eastern time) May 15, 2014. This relief is intended to enable market participants to continue efforts towards complying with the trade execution requirement and to allow the Division to obtain additional information on package transactions, in part, from a public roundtable on February 12, 2014.

The CPO of two commodity pools all operating pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief from the requirement in Regulation 4.7(b)(3) and 4.22(d) that the financial statements in the pools annual reports be audited. The CPO requested permission to file unaudited financial statements for the period from their inception of trading on October 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. The CPO agreed to file an audited financial statement for the 15-month period from October 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014. The CPO submitted waivers from all of the pools participants evidencing their consent to the relief requested. DSIO granted relief pursuant to Commission regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) conditioned upon the future filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the period from October 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014, in compliance with Regulation 4.7(b)(3) and the filing and distribution of an unaudited Annual Report that otherwise complies with Commission regulation 4.7(b)(3)(i) for the period from October 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014.