Commodity Futures Trading Commission December 31, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'') is amending its regulations that prescribe minimum adjusted net capital requirements for futures commission merchants (``FCMs'') and introducing brokers (``IBs''). The amendments: increase the required minimum dollar amount of adjusted net capital that an IB must maintain from $30,000 to $45,000; increase the required minimum dollar amount of adjusted net capital that an FCM must maintain from $250,000 to $1,000,000; amend the computation of an FCM's margin-based minimum adjusted net capital requirement to incorporate into the calculation customer and noncustomer positions in over-the-counter derivative instruments that are submitted for clearing by the FCM to derivatives clearing organizations (``DCOs'') or other clearing organizations (``cleared OTC derivative positions''); specify capital deductions for FCM proprietary cleared OTC derivative positions based on the deductions required by the Commission's regulations for FCM proprietary positions in exchange-traded futures contracts and options contracts; and amend the FCM capital computation to increase the applicable percentage of the total margin-based requirement for futures, options and cleared OTC derivative positions in noncustomer accounts to eight percent.