CFTC Staff Letter 13-53: No-Action Relief for LCH.Clearnet Ltd Clearing Nodal Exchange Futures and Options

U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581
Telephone: (202) 418-5000
Facsimile: (202) 418-5521 a
CFTC Letter No. 13-53
No-Action
Division of Market Oversight
Chief Compliance Officer
LCH.Clearnet Limited
33 Aldgate High Street
London EC3N 1EA
Ms. Anita Herrera
Chief Regulatory Officer
Nodal Exchange LLC
8065 Leesburg Pike, 3 rd Floor
Vienna, Virginia 22182
Re: No-Action Relief with Regard to Clearing Futures and Options on Futures Executed on Nodal Exchange Dear Mr. Iyer and Ms. Herrera:
This is in response to your letter dated September 19, 2013 (“Letter”), to the Division of Clearing and Risk and the Division of Market Oversight (“Divisions”) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission”). In the Letter you request, on behalf of LCH.Clearnet Ltd (“LCH”), a derivatives clearing organization (“DCO”) registered under Section 5b of the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”), 1 and Nodal Exchange LLC (“Nodal”), a platform operating as an exempt commercial market (“ECM”) in compliance with Section 2(h)(3)-(7) of the CEA (as that provision was in effect prior to July 16, 2011), 2 that the Divisions confirm that they will not recommend that the Commission commence an enforcement action against (1) LCH and its clearing members, if LCH clears futures contracts and options on futures contracts listed for trading on Nodal (“Nodal Contracts”) before LCH is authorized to provide such clearing services under an amended DCO registration order, in accordance with Section 5b(a) of the CEA and Commission regulations thereunder, and (2) Nodal, if Nodal Contracts are cleared by LCH