Who is in charge of the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight: DSIO is run by a Director, who is assisted by the DSIO Deputy Directors and Chief Counsel. Tom Smith is the Acting Director, and the Deputies and their respective branches are as follows:  Mr. Smith, who also serves as Deputy Director of Capital, Margin and Segregation; Erik Remmler, Deputy Director of Registration and Compliance; and Kevin Piccoli, Deputy Director of Examinations.  Frank Fisanich is the DSIO Chief Counsel.  How many employees are a part of DSIO:   DSIO has 89 employees, who are located in the CFTC’s…...

Securities and Exchange Commission SEC Proposed Modernizing and Enhancing Information Disclosed and Reported by RICs and RIAs The Commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) unanimously approved two (2) rules which would require enhanced disclosures and increased reporting by registered investment companies (“RICs”) and registered investment advisers (“RIAs”), as well as RIAs’ maintenance of additional performance-related records. RIAs are now required to report: Aggregate information related to the types of assets held in separately managed accounts (“SMAs”) and the SMAs’ use of borrowing and derivatives; and Additional information about an adviser’s advisory business, branch office operations and the use…...

First Trade Date Monday, June 8, 2015 Trading at Settlement (TAS) is an order type that allows a market participant to buy or sell futures contracts during the trading day equal to the yet-to-be determined settlement price, or at a price up to four ticks above or below that price. Why TAS Reduce uncertainty related to pricing around settlement Grain elevators and processors may use TAS orders to price forward contracts at or near the settlement value TAS orders offer a transparent alternative to floor based MOC orders, which will no longer be available after July 2 Key Features Available…...

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Cayman Islands Update The Cayman Islands Department of International Tax Cooperation (“DITC”) has further extended the due dates for submitting Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) notifications and reports to the Cayman Islands Tax Information Exchange Authority (“TIA”). As per the latest news and updates issued by the DITC, notifications are due by Thursday, May 21st; and returns may be reported by Friday, June 12th. The latest due dates are an extension to the dates referenced in the DITC Industry Advisory released on April 27, 2015. Financial institutions with reporting obligation are required to make…...

Earlier this year, the CFTC ordered Summit Energy Services, Inc. (“Summit Energy”) to pay a $140,000 civil penalty to resolve allegations that it violated Section 4m(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act by failing to register as a CTA. The CFTC held that Summit Energy engaged in the business of advising 15 or more clients as to the trading of natural gas swaps and futures and generally held itself out to the public as a CTA. Additionally, Summit Energy included descriptions of its “risk management services” on its website and sale brochures, which the CFTC considered to be holding itself out…...

First Trade Date Monday, June 8, 2015 Trading at Settlement (TAS) is an order type that allows a market participant to buy or sell futures contracts during the trading day equal to the yet-to-be determined settlement price, or at a price up to four ticks above or below that price. Why TAS Reduce uncertainty related to pricing around settlement Grain elevators and processors may use TAS orders to price forward contracts at or near the settlement value TAS orders offer a transparent alternative to floor based MOC orders, which will no longer be available after July 2 Key Features Available…...

As your industry advocate, the NIBA provides many services which help your business stay in compliance with NFA regulations. “Ask the NFA,” is the way you can ask questions about those regulations and compliance requirements without having to call NFA directly. Just email us at [email protected] and we will get the answers for you. Please keep in mind the purpose of this contact is to keep the lines of communication between NFA and NIBA members open, not to fix any specific individual concerns.  This month’s questions were selected from those submitted by NIBA members. The answers were supplied by NFA…...

Dodd-Frank transferred responsibility for identity theft from the FTC to the CFTC and SEC for those financial institutions under their jurisdiction. The rules adopted in April 2013 require “financial institutions” that “hold” “covered accounts” to establish an Identity Theft Prevention Program (“ITPP”). These rules are known as the “Red Flag” rules. The CFTC has defined the term “financial institution” to include FCMs, IBs, CTAs and CPOs as well as Swap Dealers. Traditional futures trading accounts are considered “covered accounts”. If you don’t “hold”, covered accounts, directly or indirectly, then the extent of your responsibility under the Red Flag rules is…...

Risk management is a trade craft that never sleeps: Market conditions change, new products are invented, mathematics advance, operational flows become more complex, regulation evolves. We’ve seen all of these over time in CME Group’s futures and options markets: Recent oil market and FX market gyrations, the introduction of deliverable swap futures, SPAN margin model changes, customer gross margining regulations, and increasingly strict funding timelines and processes for margin calls. Our web-based CME CORE application is part of the next generation of risk management tools we’re developing to help traders, brokers, risk managers and reconciliation personnel measure and monitor risk…...

The NIBA has been working with the CFTC for over a year to gain approval from the regulatory body to participate in our newsletter series, “Get to Know the Regulators.”  The CFTC has agreed to be a part of our article series and we will be featuring an article on the first division of the agency in the coming months.   This article series will be a Q&A with the CFTC with a focus on how the CFTC functions, who is in charge of various areas of the agency and who a broker would need to contact in the event…...