CFTC Publishes Final Rule and Interim Final Rule on Commodity Options
On Friday, April 27, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission ("CFTC") issued a final rule to repeal and
replace the CFTC's current regulations concerning commodity
options. The CFTC also issued an interim final rule (with a
request for additional comment) that incorporates a trade option
exemption into the final rules for certain commodity options.
For a transaction to be within the trade option exemption, the
option, the offeror (seller), and the offeree (buyer), as
applicable, must satisfy certain eligibility requirements,
including that the option, if exercised, be physically settled,
that the option seller meet certain eligibility requirements, and
that the option buyer be a commercial user of the commodity
underlying the option, and certain other regulatory
conditions. Both rules are adopted pursuant to Title VII of
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the
"Dodd-Frank Act").
Read the CFTC rule
CFTC Clarifies Indemnification and Confidentiality Provisions of Dodd-Frank Act
On Tuesday, May 1, 2012, the CFTC voted to issue a Proposed
Interpretative Statement regarding the confidentiality and
indemnification provisions in Section 728 of the Dodd-Frank Act,
pursuant to the international harmonization directive of Section
752 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The proposal generally exempts
foreign regulators from the indemnification and confidentiality
provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act, and ensures that foreign
regulators have access to data in Swap Data Repositories
("SDR"). This exemption only applies to data that
is required to be reported, and only if the SDR is recognized by
the foreign country's law and regulation.
Read the CFTC press release
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