CFTC Staff Letter 16-05: No-Action Relief and Exemption for Eurex Clearing AG

U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581
Telephone: (202) 418-5044
Facsimile: (202) 418-5547 jbandman@cftc.gov a
Jeffrey M. Bandman
Acting Director
Division of Clearing and Risk
CFTC Letter No. 16-05
Exemption
Division of Clearing and Risk
Mr. Thomas Book, Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Oliver Haderup, Executive Director
Eurex Clearing AG
Mergenthalerallee 61
65760 Eschborn, Germany
Re: Request of Eurex Clearing AG for No-Action Relief from the Written Acknowledgment Requirements of Commission Regulation 22.5 and for Exemptive Relief from Commission Regulation 1.49(d)(3) Dear Mr. Book and Mr. Haderup:
This is in response to your letter dated August 4, 2015 (“Letter”), to the Division of Clearing and Risk (“Division”) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “Commission”). In the Letter, you request that the Division confirm that it will not recommend that the Commission take enforcement action against Eurex Clearing AG (“Eurex Clearing”) for failing to obtain, or provide the Commission with, an executed version of the template acknowledgment letter set forth in Appendix B to Regulation 1.20 (“Template Acknowledgment Letter”), as required by Regulation 22.5, for customer accounts maintained at the Deutsche Bundesbank (“Bundesbank”). You additionally request that the Division grant exemptive relief from Regulation 1.49(d)(3)(i), with respect to Eurex Clearing’s holding of customer funds in the Bundesbank, which is not a qualified depository for customer funds under the regulation.
I. No-Action Relief from the Written Acknowledgment Requirements of
Commission Regulation 22.5
Regulation 22.5 requires, among other things, that a derivatives clearing organization (“DCO”) obtain an acknowledgment letter from each depository with which the DCO deposits cleared swaps customer funds.1 Specifically, Regulation 22.5(a) provides that,