CFTC Staff Letter 96-54: No-Action Letter for OMLX OMX Index Futures Contracts

U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION Three Lafayette Centra OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL Derek Oliver 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581 Telephone: (202) .t18-5120 Facsimile: {202) 418-5524 July 23, 1996 Director of Legal Affairs OMLX, The London Securities and Derivatives Exchange Limited 107 Cannon street London EC4N 5AD United Kingdom Re: OMLX, The London Securities and Derivatives Exchange Limited Request for No-Action Lettei for Futures Contracts Based on the OMX stock Index Dear Mr. Oliver:
This -is in response to letters and facsimiles dated from May 18, 1995 through May 22, 1996 requesting that the Office of the General Counsel issue a no-action letter allowing the OMLX, The London Securities and Derivatives Exchange Limited ( "OMLX") futures contracts based on the OMX Stock Index ("OMX Index" or "Index") to be offered and sold in the United states.11 · We understand the facts to be as follows. The OMLX is a fully computerized exchange located in the United Kingdom and is a Recognised Investment Exchange. As such, the OMLX is supervised by the Securities and Investment Board ("SIB"), the chief regulator of the U.K. financial services industry, under the provisions of the Financial Services Act 1986. The OMLX is a wholly-owned subsidiary of OM Gruppen, a publicly quoted company listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange ("SSE") • The OM Stockholm, a swedish futures exchange, is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of OM Gruppen. Trading on the OMLX in the standardized futures contract based on the OMX Index began on December 15, 1989. In June 1994, trading in the OMLX OMX Index Flex futures contract began. 11 The request was submitted for the.standardized futures contract based on the OMX Index and the OMX Index Flex futures contract. The OMX Index Flex futures contract allows the parties to such contract to determine the expiration date for the Flex futures contract as long as that date differs from'that of a corresponding standardized contract which is listed for trading at the time that a Flex futures contract is executed.