2018-21408

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 191 (Tuesday, October 2, 2018) 
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 2, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49549-49550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21408]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION


Request for Nominations for the Interest Rate Benchmark Reform
Subcommittee Under the Market Risk Advisory Committee

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission)
is requesting nominations for membership on the Interest Rate Benchmark
Reform Subcommittee (Subcommittee) under the Market Risk Advisory
Committee (MRAC). The MRAC is a discretionary advisory committee
established by the Commission in accordance with the Federal Advisory
Committee Act.

DATES: The deadline for the submission of nominations is October 16,
2018.

ADDRESSES: Nominations should be emailed to [email protected]
or sent by hand delivery or courier to Alicia L. Lewis, MRAC Designated
Federal Officer and Special Counsel to Commissioner Rostin Behnam,
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st
Street NW, Washington, DC 20581. Please use the title ``MRAC Interest
Rate Benchmark Reform Subcommittee'' for any nominations you submit.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alicia L. Lewis, MRAC Designated
Federal Officer and Special Counsel to Commissioner Rostin Behnam at
(202) 418-5862 or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Subcommittee was established to provide
reports and recommendations to the MRAC regarding ongoing efforts to
transition U.S. dollar derivatives and related contracts to a risk-free
reference rate--the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR)--and the
impact of this transition on the derivatives markets. Topics and issues
this Subcommittee may consider include, but are not limited to, the
following:
     The treatment, under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, of existing derivatives
contracts that are amended to include new fallback provisions or
otherwise reference alternative risk-free rate benchmarks (``RFRs'')
such as SOFR and new derivatives contracts that reference RFRs; and
     Impact on liquidity in derivatives and related markets
during the transition.
    The Subcommittee will report directly to the MRAC and will not
provide reports and/or recommendations directly to the Commission. The
Subcommittee has no authority to make decisions on behalf of the MRAC,
and no determination of fact or policy will be made by the Subcommittee
on behalf of the Commission.
    Subcommittee members will generally serve as representatives and
provide advice reflecting the views of organizations and entities that
constitute the structure of the derivatives and financial markets. The
Subcommittee may also include regular government employees when doing
so furthers its purpose. It is anticipated that the Subcommittee will
hold at least three meetings per year. Subcommittee members serve at
the pleasure of the Commission. In addition, Subcommittee members do
not receive compensation or honoraria for their services, and they are
not reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses.
    The Subcommittee will include as members individuals who are
members of the MRAC and other individuals. For these other individuals
who are not serving on the MRAC currently, the Commission seeks
nominations of individuals from a wide range of perspectives, including
from industry, academia, the government, and public interest. To advise
the MRAC effectively, Subcommittee members must have a high-level of
expertise and experience with interest rate benchmarks; efforts to
transition to an RFR; assessing the impact of such efforts on the
derivatives and related markets; and the Commodity Exchange Act and
Commission regulations thereunder. To the extent practicable, the
Commission will strive to select members reflecting wide ethnic,
racial, gender, and age representation.
    The Commission invites the submission of nominations for
Subcommittee membership. Each nomination submission should include the
proposed member's name, title, organization affiliation and address,
email address and telephone number, as well as information that
supports the individual's qualifications to serve on the Subcommittee.
The submission should also include the name, email address and
telephone number of the person nominating the proposed

[[Page 49550]]

Subcommittee member. Self-nominations are acceptable.
    Submission of a nomination is not a guarantee of selection as a
member of the Subcommittee. As noted in the MRAC's Membership Balance
Plan, the Commission seeks to ensure that the membership of a
subcommittee is balanced relative to the particular issues addressed by
the subcommittee in question. The Commission will identify members for
the Subcommittee based on Commissioners' and Commission staff
professional knowledge of ongoing efforts to transition to SOFR,
consultation with knowledgeable persons outside the CFTC, and requests
to be represented received from organizations. The office of the
Commissioner primarily responsible for the MRAC and the Subcommittee
plays a primary, but not exclusive, role in this process and makes
recommendations regarding membership to the Commission. The Commission,
by vote, authorizes members to serve on MRAC subcommittees.

(Authority: 5 U.S.C. App. II)

    Dated: September 27, 2018.
Robert Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-21408 Filed 10-1-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6351-01-P