Commodity Futures Trading Commission August 24, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is modifying its existing interest rate swap clearing requirement regulations under applicable provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) due to the global transition from reliance on certain interbank offered rates (IBORs) (e.g., the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)) that have been, or will be, discontinued as benchmark reference rates to alternative reference rates, which are predominantly overnight, nearly risk-free reference rates (RFRs). The amendments update the set of interest rate swaps that are required to be submitted for clearing pursuant to the CEA and the Commission's regulations to a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) that is registered under the CEA (registered DCO) or a DCO that has been exempted from registration under the CEA (exempt DCO) to reflect the market shift away from swaps that reference IBORs to swaps that reference RFRs.