On August 17, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved rule amendments to conform its existing intermediary registration rules to changes made to the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act). The conforming amendments add references to swap dealers, major swap participants and swap execution facilities; clarify certain definitions; and eliminate outdated cross-references in several CFTC regulations.

The amended rules include technical changes that will permit legal entities, in addition to individuals, to register as floor traders. This change will effectively permit certain proprietary trading firms to conduct transactions on a swap execution facility without being registered as swap dealers, because trades entered into by a person or entity acting in its capacity as a floor trader are not considered for purposes of determining whether that person has exceeded the de minimis threshold.

The final rule is available here.