CFTC Staff Letter 12-26: No-Action Relief for FCMs and IBs Regarding Regulation 1.71 Compliance

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U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581
Telephone: (202) 418-5977
Facsimile: (202) 418-5407 gbarnett@cftc.gov
Division of Swap Dealer and
Intermediary Oversight
Gary Barnett
Director
CFTC Letter No. 12-26
No-Action
June 1, 2012
Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight Futures Industry Association c/o Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP 525 West Monroe Street Chicago, IL 60661-3693 National Introducing Brokers Association 55 West Monroe Street Suite 3600 Chicago, IL 60603 Re: Request for No-Action Relief from Provisions of Regulation 1.71 Ladies and Gentlemen:
This is in response to your correspondence, dated May 25, 2012, and May 31, 2012, to the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (“Division”) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission”), in which you requested no-action relief pursuant to Commission Regulation 140.99, 17 CFR § 140.99. Collectively, your correspondence requested that the Division provide a limited time period of no-action relief – in essence, an extension of the compliance date – for certain provisions of Commission Regulation 1.71, 17 CFR § 1.71, that have a compliance date of June 4, 2012. 1 You filed your requests on behalf of registered futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) and introducing brokers (“IBs”). The Commission promulgated Regulation 1.71 pursuant to section 4d(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act (“the Act”), 7 U.S.C. § 6d(c), as amended by section 732 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub. L. 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010). Regulation 1.71 generally seeks to accomplish several goals, including the following: