As the U.S. gets back to work after the holidays, SEC and CFTC officials are preparing for an ongoing and widening shutdown of the federal government that may affect the law enforcement and litigation efforts of the regulators. When the shutdown began on Dec. 22, initially nine federal departments and agencies were impacted by the… Read More >>
CFTC Explains Smart Contracts
Through its LabCFTC extension for FinTech innovation, the CFTC has issued a primer “intended to be an educational tool” to explain what a “smart contract” actually is (in case you’re not certain), and to point out some of its shortcomings. “Fundamentally, a ‘smart contract’ is a set of coded computer functions,” according to the primer…. Read More >>
CFTC Exempts Key MTFs From SEF Status
U.K. MTFs Can Operate as Exempt SEFs The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an amended order that will allow an additional four multilateral trading facilities (MTFs) authorized within the European Union to be exempted from the requirement to register with the CFTC as swap execution facilities (SEFs). The four additional United Kingdom-based… Read More >>
Hedge Fund Hit With $1M+ in Penalties
A New York federal court has ordered Algointeractive Inc. a hedge fund, and its two co-founders to pay more than $1 million in civil monetary penalties and restitution to resolve an enforcement action brought in April 2018 by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), charging them with fraudulent solicitation and misappropriation of funds, among… Read More >>
CFTC Tightens Uncleared Swap Margin Requirements
Just in time for the winter holidays, the CFTC approved a final rule to tighten its uncleared swap margin requirements, known as the CFTC Margin Rule, and the changes made an appearance in the Federal Register, Vol. 83, no. 227, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. Essentially, the changes will take effect by the end of this… Read More >>
Commerzbank, CFTC Settle Swap Ops Case for $12M
Commerzbank A.G. and the CFTC have agreed to settle allegations that the German bank failed to properly supervise its swap dealer activities, and then made misleading statements and material omissions to the CFTC about swap operations and compliance with key laws and regulations. A recently issued CFTC order compels Commerzbank, provisionally registered with the regulator… Read More >>
Mizuho Capital Markets Fined for Alleged NFA Violations
Swap dealer Mizuho Capital Markets has paid a $900,000 fine for allegedly violating National Futures Association (NFA) requirements for margin collection, model monitoring and reporting related to uncleared swaps. In fact, NFA officials alleged that the New York-based firm did not satisfy requirements for initial and variation margin collection and did not properly supervise the… Read More >>
Giancarlo Wants to Overhaul Cross-Border Swaps Rules
While making clear that he supports swaps reforms for the U.S., J. Christopher Giancarlo, CFTC chairman, is pushing for an overhaul of the regulator’s “flawed approach” of trying to export its rules across borders and jurisdictions. “I have been a constant supporter of the swaps market reforms passed by the U.S. Congress … and the… Read More >>
TFS-ICAP Faces CFTC’s Charges after NYAG Convictions
The CFTC has charged an English interdealer broker TFS-ICAP Ltd. and its American branch TFS-ICAP LLC with fraud and supervisory failures, and is alleging that a board chairman, CEO and senior manager affiliated with the company were responsible for fraudulent conduct. The regulator’s case follows guilty pleas entered by the U.K. firm and its U.S…. Read More >>
BofA Pays $30M Penalty to Settle ISDAFIX Case
The U.S. CFTC has imposed a $30 million penalty against Bank of America, N.A. for alleged attempted manipulation and false reporting of the U.S. dollar ISDAFIX benchmark. The CFTC’s order, which both files and settles the charges against BofA, alleges that, beginning in January 2007 and continuing through December 2012, the bank “made false reports… Read More >>
