Agencies and Commissions April 23, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'' or the ``Commission'') is proposing to exempt the trading and clearing of products called options on streetTRACKS[supreg] Gold Trust Shares (``ST Gold Options''), proposed to be traded on a national securities exchange, and cleared through the Options Clearing Corporation (``OCC''), from the provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (``CEA'') \1\ and the regulations thereunder to the extent necessary to permit them to be so traded and cleared. Authority for this exemption is found in Section 4(c) of the CEA.\2\

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC) is publishing for comment an interim final policy statement (``Policy Statement'') on the treatment of covered bonds in a conservatorship or receivership. The Policy Statement provides guidance on the availability of expedited access to collateral pledged for certain covered bonds in a receivership or a conservatorship, after the FDIC decides whether to terminate or continue the transaction. The Policy Statement provides guidance to facilitate the prudent and incremental development of the U.S. covered bond market while the FDIC, and other regulators, evaluate the benefits and risks of these products in the U.S. mortgage market. The Policy Statement is being published as ``interim final'' in order to provide immediate guidance, but with a view to possible later amendment in response to comments received.