The CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") and Division of Market Oversight ("DMO") extended relief previously provided to CFTC registrants due to compliance challenges caused by COVID-19. The relief, formerly set to expire on June 30, 2020, is now extended until September 30, 2020.
As previously covered, the DSIO on March 17, 2020 issued a series of no-action letters: Letter 20-03 to futures commission merchants ("FCMs") and introducing brokers ("IBs"); Letter 20-06 to swap dealers ("SDs"); and Letter 20-05 to retail foreign exchange dealers, granting relief from:
- recording oral communications, provided that certain requirements are met, including the creation and maintenance of a written record of the oral communication (including date, time, identifying information of the persons participating, and subject matter of the communication); and
- complying with time-stamping requirements as to personnel located in a "socially-distanced" location, in addition to relief from other CFTC regulations.
The DSIO did not extend the relief provided in Letters 20-03 and 20-06 for FCMs/IBs and SDs regarding submission of annual compliance reports.
Additionally, the no-action letters issued by the DSIO provided an exemption for (i) floor brokers (see Letter 20-04) from having to be physically located on the premises of a designated contract market and (ii) designated contract markets ("DCMs") and swap execution facilities (see Letter 20-02) from time-stamping requirements when in a socially-distanced location.
For DCMs, Letter 20-09 provided relief from audit trail and related requirements concerning the displacement of market participants from the DCM premises.
Primary Sources
- CFTC No-Action Letter 20-19: No-Action Positions to Facilitate Physical Separation of Registrant Personnel in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
- CFTC Press Release: CFTC Extends No-Action Relief to Market Participants in Response to COVID-19
Originally published 10 June 2020
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