On May 10, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a notice of a proposed second amendment that extends the CFTC’s prior grant of temporary relief from certain swap-related provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The proposed amendment includes four changes. First, the definitions of the terms “swap dealer,” “major swap participant,” and “eligible contract participant” are excluded from the proposed order, because they were defined on April 18. Second, the CFTC proposes to extend the effective date for swap regulation from July 16 to December 31 or until the CFTC’s rules and regulations go into effect. The amended order also provides that agricultural swaps may be cleared in the same manner as any other swap without the need for additional guidance from the CFTC. Finally, the relief for exempt commercial markets (ECM) and exempt boards of trade (EBOT) previously granted by the Commission will expire on the effective date of the designated contract market (DCM) or swap execution facility (SEF) rules, whichever is later, unless the ECM or EBOT files a DCM or SEF application on or before the effective date of the DCM or SEF final rules, in which case the relief will remain in place during the pendency of the application.

The proposal will be published in the Federal Register for a 14 day comment period.

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