On October 15, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) voted 3-2 to adopt new rules on speculative position limits (the Final Rule). The Final Rule will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal...more
On September 17, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) unanimously approved final rules amending the agency’s swap data reporting and derivatives clearing organization (DCO) registration requirements. The...more
On September 10, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) published Staff guidance (Guidance) from the director of the Division of Enforcement (Division) that outlines factors the Division will consider when...more
On August 31, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) announced relief for swap dealers (SD) and other market participants related to the industry-wide transition from swaps that reference the...more
On July 23, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) voted 3-2 to approve a final rule (Final Rule) on the cross-border application of certain swap provisions under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA)....more
On June 25, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) held an open meeting and voted unanimously to approve a final rule prohibiting post-trade name give-up for swaps executed anonymously on a swap...more
On May 28, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) unanimously approved an interim final rule extending the Phase 5 compliance date for the Commission’s initial margin rules (Interim Final Rule)...more
On March 24, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) voted unanimously to adopt an interpretation of the term “actual delivery” with respect to retail virtual currency transactions (2020 Guidance)....more
4/8/2020
/ Actual Delivery ,
Amended Rules ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement ,
Futures ,
Leveraged Lending ,
Margin Requirements ,
Retail Investors ,
Swaps ,
Virtual Currency
On March 17, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued...more
3/22/2020
/ Brokers ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DMO ,
DSIO ,
Futures ,
Market Participants ,
No-Action Relief ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Swaps
On January 30, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) voted 3-2 to issue a proposed rulemaking on speculative position limits (the Proposal). The Proposal would apply spot month-only federal...more
2/19/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Position Limits ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Swaps
On January 30, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) unanimously approved proposed amendments (SEF Proposed Rules) to CFTC regulations related to the execution of package transactions, the correction of error...more
Despite political and economic uncertainties, markets and deal activity were resilient in 2019, and strong fundamentals remain in place heading into 2020. Companies continue to face a challenging litigation and enforcement...more
1/30/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney General ,
Backstop Agreements ,
BEPS ,
BitLicense ,
Blockchain ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
CFIUS ,
CFTC ,
Chapter 11 ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Common Stock ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Subpoenas ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Covenant Lite Deals ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
DACA ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Debt Financing ,
Debtors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Disgorgement ,
Disparate Impact ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Down Rounds ,
Drug Pricing ,
EBITDA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ,
Enterprise Act 2002 ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Issuers ,
FRCP 23 ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
General Elections ,
GILTI tax ,
High-Yield Markets ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Individual Accountability ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intercreditor Agreements ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
IRS ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Japan ,
Joint Venture ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Life Sciences ,
Listing Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Make-Whole Premium ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
PCAOB ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Political Parties ,
Preferred Shares ,
Private Offerings ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Refinancing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Separation of Powers ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Litigation ,
Technology Sector ,
Third-Party Release Agrements ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Valuation ,
White Collar Crimes
Over the past five years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has settled 20 enforcement actions against financial institutions for violations of various Dodd-Frank Act regulatory requirements (i.e., rules other...more
1/23/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Bipartisan Agreement ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Dodd-Frank ,
DSIO ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exemptions ,
Financial Institutions ,
No-Action Letters ,
No-Action Relief ,
Over The Counter Derivatives (OTC) ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Swaps ,
Trump Administration
On July 25, 2019, the Ninth Circuit reinstated the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) lawsuit in CFTC v. Monex Credit Co.,1 interpreting the CFTC’s Dodd-Frank enforcement authority under Commodity Exchange Act...more
7/31/2019
/ Administrative Authority ,
Appeals ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Derivatives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fraud ,
Price Manipulation ,
Reversal ,
Swaps
On April 25, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) published for public comment proposed amendments to the rules governing swap data repositories (SDRs) and reporting obligations of swap market...more
In 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) began operating with a full complement of five commissioners for the first time since 2014. Soon thereafter, it held a rare open meeting to propose major...more
1/22/2019
/ CCPs ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Derivatives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Jurisdiction ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Swap Execution Facilities ,
Swaps
Few price manipulation cases brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ever go to trial. The CFTC case filed against the trading firm DRW Investments LLC (and its CEO) was the exception to that rule and would...more
12/15/2018
/ Bench Trial ,
CFTC ,
Commodities Traders ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Intent ,
Interest Rate Swaps ,
Market Manipulation ,
Price Manipulation ,
Standard of Review
On November 5, 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) held its first open meeting with five commissioners since May 2013. At that meeting, the Commission approved (by a 4-1 vote) proposed...more
On November 5, 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) voted 5-0 to approve a final rule amending the swap dealer registration trigger or activity threshold. The amendments — which became effective on November...more
In recent days, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a no-action position on enforcing its 2016 Business Conduct Standards against security-based swap dealers (SBSDs) and major security-based swap...more
11/12/2018
/ Capital Requirements ,
CFTC ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Margin Requirements ,
No-Action Letters ,
Public Comment ,
Request For Information ,
SBSD ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Swap Dealers ,
Title VII ,
Variation Margin Requirements (VM)
This is the second edition of The Distributed Ledger, a periodic publication covering the latest trends and developments in blockchain technology, digital assets and smart contracts. In this issue, we examine the SEC’s new...more
11/8/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
CNIL ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Data Controller ,
Data Processors ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
FATF ,
FinHub ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Startups ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Virtual Currency
This is the inaugural issue of The Distributed Ledger, a periodic publication covering the latest trends and developments in blockchain technology, digital assets and smart contracts. In this edition, we examine a federal...more
10/16/2018
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Fraud ,
Misappropriation ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Research and Development ,
Smart Contracts ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Legislatures ,
Trade Market Abuse ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency ,
Young Lawyers
Recent federal court decisions, and a pending appeal in the Ninth Circuit, highlight disagreement among the courts as to the scope of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) anti-fraud and anti-manipulation...more
10/2/2018
/ Administrative Authority ,
Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Anti-Manipulation Rule ,
Appeals ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Split of Authority ,
Swaps ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Use in Commerce ,
Virtual Currency
On July 19, 2018, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) published a white paper entitled "Initial Margin for Non-Centrally Cleared...more
7/27/2018
/ CFTC ,
Consultation Periods ,
Covered Swap Entities (CSE) ,
Derivatives ,
End-Users ,
ISDA ,
Margin Requirements ,
New Guidance ,
Over-the-Counter Sales ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
SIFMA ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps ,
Variation Margin Requirements (VM)
On June 29, 2018, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, and together the Commissions) announced that the Commissions approved a memorandum of understanding...more
7/10/2018
/ CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Derivatives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FX Swaps ,
Information Sharing ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Swaps ,
Trump Administration ,
Virtual Currency