Commodity Futures Trading Commission May 12, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is proposing regulations that would implement the new statutory framework in the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), added by the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). These new provisions of the CEA require, among other things, the Commission to adopt capital requirements for certain swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs). The proposed rules also provide for related financial condition reporting and recordkeeping by SDs and MSPs. The Commission further proposes to amend existing capital and financial reporting regulations for futures commission merchants (FCMs) that also register as SDs or MSPs. The proposed regulations also include requirements for supplemental FCM financial reporting to reflect section 724 of the Dodd-Frank Act. In order to align the comment periods for this proposed rule and the Commission's earlier proposed rulemaking on margin requirements for uncleared swaps,\1\ the comment period for the proposed margin rulemaking is being extended elsewhere in the Federal Register today, so that commenters will have the opportunity to review the proposed capital and margin rules together before the expiration of the comment periods for either proposed rule.