On February 18, 2016, the CFTC's Division of Market Oversight issued a no-action letter providing time-limited relief for end users from the Form TO filing requirement under CFTC Regulation 32.3(b)(2), which the CFTC has proposed to amend. The regulation currently requires counterparties to trade options that are not required to be reported to a swap data repository to submit a Form TO filing by March 1 following the end of any calendar year during which they entered into one or more unreported trade options. While the CFTC is considering the proposed amendment to the Trade Options Rule, DMO will not recommend that the CFTC take enforcement action against a market participant that is neither a swap dealer nor a major swap participant for failing to report its otherwise unreported trade options entered into during 2015 on Form TO by April 1, 2016.
The CFTC press release is available at: http://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/pr7328-16.
CFTC Staff Letter 16-10 is available at: http://www.cftc.gov/idc/groups/public/@lrlettergeneral/documents/letter/16-10.pdf and the CFTC regulation is available at: http://www.cftc.gov/idc/groups/public/@lrfederalregister/documents/file/2015-11020a.pdf.
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