Under pending regulations of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2013, business development companies (BDCs) and/or their sponsors or advisers (operators) would be required to register as “commodity pool operators” (CPOs) if BDCs entered into even a single swap agreement to hedge interest rate or currency exposure or for other purposes. At the request of Dechert LLP on behalf of its clients and the industry as a whole,on December 4, 2012 the CFTC Staff issued no-action relief and guidance (Relief) that effectively extends to BDCs and their operators relief comparable to that afforded to mutual funds and other registered investment companies and their operators in Regulation 4.5 under the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act as amended (CEA). As a result of this action, BDCs and their operators will not be required to register as CPOs with the CFTC if they meet the requirements of the Relief and make an effective claim for the Relief with the CFTC.