FIA Comment Letters

Advanced Search | Site Map

Comment Letters

FIA Urges CFTC to Work with Industry on Ownership and Control Reporting (Aug. 17, 2010)

Before drafting rules to gather ownership and control information from participants in the U.S. futures markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should establish an “industry-wide committee” to address operational issues and other issues regarding the “appropriate design” of such a reporting requirement, the FIA recommended in an Aug. 17 comment letter. The FIA warned that the cost of developing the necessary record-keeping and reporting systems would impose a “significant burden” on futures commission merchants and noted that at present there is no industry-wide uniformity in the customer data that are being collecting or the systems used to collect and store those data. The FIA also noted that the CFTC may want to postpone action on the OCR until it can coordinate the collection of futures-related data with the data that it will begin collecting on the over-the-counter derivatives, as mandated by Congress in the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation.

Click here for the letter

FIA and FIA PTG Support CFTC Co-Location Proposal (July 12, 2010)

Responding to a request for comment from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regarding a proposed rule on co-location and proximity hosting services, the Futures Industry Association filed a comment letter on July 12 expressing its support for the CFTC’s efforts to promote transparency and fair access to the futures markets. The FIA comment letter also reflects the views of the FIA Principal Traders Group, a forum for firms trading their own capital to identify and discuss issues confronting the principal trading community. One of the group’s stated goals is to promote cost-effective, equal and transparent access to U.S. and non-U.S. markets. The FIA expressed support for the CFTC’s proposed requirement that exchanges provide equal access to co-location facilities and allow third parties to provide proximity services. The FIA asked the CFTC to consider third party sites as well as an exchange’s own co-location facility as meeting access requirements rather than the exchange facility alone. The FIA also supported requiring exchanges to publish latency data for direct connections from their co-location facilities and other access points to an exchange matching engine, but recommended against applying a similar requirement to other types of connections between market participants and third party providers of access. The latency data should cover average, shortest and longest latency and should be reported quarterly, the FIA said. The association also encouraged exchanges to ensure equality of access within data centers by establishing the same distance from rack space to matching engine throughout the data center.

Click here for the letter

FIA, SIFMA, ICI Comment on Joint FinCEN,SEC Guidelines Regarding Beneficial Ownership Information

The Futures Industry Association, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Investment Company Institute co-signed a June 9 letter to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding guidelines on the information securities and futures firms should obtain to verify beneficial ownership information of their customer relationships. The groups in the letter said they fully support efforts of regulators to provide guidance on anti-money laundering compliance, but they warned the guidelines issued on March 5 do not reflect the current laws that apply to securities and futures firms. “We do not believe that the Bank Manual is an appropriate vehicle to provide guidance to securities and futures firms not subject to examinations under the Bank Manual,” FIA, SIFMA and ICI wrote.

The groups requested a meeting with FinCEn, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to begin a dialogue about providing revised guidelines that are tailored to the specific and varied operations of securities and futures firms.

Click here for the comment letter

FIA Submits Direct Market Access Recommendations to SEC (May 6, 2010)

The FIA on May 6, 2010 submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a report recently released by the FIA recommending several principles for managing the risks in direct access to derivatives exchanges. The FIA submitted the report in response to the agency’s request for comment on proposed rules requiring broker-dealers to establish, document and maintain risk management controls for firms with direct access to U.S equity markets.

The report identifies several principles for addressing DMA risk issues and recommends specific implementation of solutions by direct access participants, clearing firms and exchanges. “An underlying principle of the report is that risk management of direct access market participants is the shared responsibility of exchanges, clearing firms, and the direct access firms themselves,” the FIA wrote in its letter to the SEC.

The report specifically recommends that exchanges establish certain risk controls and apply those risk controls across all trading firms, ensuring a level playing field in terms of the latency of trading and avoiding creation of competitive pressures among clearing firms and trading firms to reduce the latency of trading by applying fewer risk controls.

The report was drafted by a working group consisting of representatives from U.S and European derivatives exchanges, clearing firms and trading firms. The report is the latest in a series of FIA initiatives that promote best practices in the listed derivatives markets worldwide.

Click here for the comment letter

FIA Comments on CFTC Proposal Regarding Confidential Information (April 30, 2010)

The FIA filed a comment letter with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on April 30, 2010 on the proposed amendments to rules 140.72 and 140.73. These amendments relate to the CFTC’s ability to delegate to CFTC staff its authority to disclose confidential information. The FIA said it supports the proposed amendments, with one exception, but urged the CFTC to adopt enhanced policies and procedures to guide CFTC staff in the exercise of their authority under the proposed rules.

The FIA noted that legislation currently pending in Congress would require over-the-counter derivatives market participants to submit “a substantial amount of confidential information” to the CFTC. The FIA also noted that the CFTC would be authorized to disclose this information to self-regulatory organizations in the futures industry. The FIA said that it is therefore “particularly important” that the CFTC adopt an agency-wide policy statement to guide the staff in determining which confidential information to release and for which purpose.

Another concern raised by the FIA related to the use of confidential information gathered by exchanges in the course of their examinations of futures commission merchants. The FIA noted that such information may include "confidential proprietary and business information that an FCM would not otherwise disclose" and urged the CFTC to limit the ability of exchange self-regulatory arms to share this information with other divisions of the exchange.

Though the FIA generally supported the proposed amendments, the one exception was the proposed repeal of Rule 140.73(b), which currently provides that the CFTC’s enforcement director or the director’s designee must approve the disclosure of confidential information to other federal, state and foreign regulatory authorities. “To the extent confidential information is disclosed to other governmental authorities, both within and outside of the U.S., it is essential that one office at the Commission act as a central clearinghouse to make an initial determination that the requesting agency is acting within the scope of its authority and to assure that only the information that is responsive to the request is being disclosed,” the FIA letter said.

Click here for the letter

FIA Files Letter in Lehman Bankruptcy Proceeding (March 25, 2010)

The FIA filed a letter with the U.S. bankruptcy court in New York to support the request of the CME Group to preserve the confidentiality of the firms that submitted bids in the September 2008 emergency auction of open positions of Lehman Brothers. CME requested that the names of bidders with their specific bid information not be publicly revealed and asked instead that descriptive terms such as “bidder 1” and bidder 2” be used in order to mask the identity of actual bidders and their connection to a specific bid. The FIA supported this arrangement in our letter to the court.

Click here for the letter

FIA Opposes CFTC Position Limit Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C.—March 18, 2010—The Futures Industry Association today filed a major comment letter in opposition to the adoption by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of its proposed speculative position limits on energy commodities. “The FIA strongly supports the CFTC’s ongoing efforts to prevent price manipulation and to conduct effective market surveillance to protect price discovery,” said FIA President John Damgard. “Based on our analysis, the proposed rules would harm these public interests and should not be adopted.”

Click Here for a Summary of the FIA Comment Letter
Click Here for the Full Text of the FIA Comment Letter

FIA Comments on Revised CME Petition to Commingle CDS Margin

On Feb. 4, 2010, the FIA filed a comment letter with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regarding a revised petition from CME Group seeking permission to commingle customer funds used to margin cleared credit default swaps with customer funds used to margin exchange-traded futures and options. The letter noted that CME had made “fundamental changes” to the structure of its default fund in support of CDS clearing without giving all clearing members an opportunity to express their views on these changes. The letter urged the CFTC to ensure greater transparency in the process for approving such changes. The FIA also reiterated concerns expressed in an earlier comment letter about the potential risks if a clearing member were to default. In such a scenario, having cleared CDS in a customer segregated account could threaten the integrity of customer segregated accounts and could delay or even prevent the transfer of exchange-traded positions to a solvent FCM. The FIA therefore reiterated its recommendation that the CFTC defer action on the CME petition until the regulator had adopted “objective standards” for determining which cleared over-the-counter derivatives can be held in customer segregated accounts.

Click Here for the PDF

FIA Urges CFTC to Support “Comprehensive Review” of Bankruptcy Issues

The Futures Industry Association submitted a comment letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Jan. 15, 2010 responding to a CFTC proposal that would authorize a bankruptcy trustee to operate a commodity brokerage business for a limited period of time. The FIA agreed that the proposed authorization would be appropriate when dealing with insolvent firms, as in the case of Lehman Brothers Inc. But the FIA said it could not support the proposal in its present form for three main reasons. First, the FIA urged the CFTC to address this issue in the context of a “comprehensive review” of the bankruptcy code and the CFTC’s rules in this area. Second, the FIA urged the CFTC to work with the Securities and Exchange Commission on “uniform procedures” to guide a trustee of an insolvent firm that is registered as both a broker-dealer and a futures commission merchant. Third, the FIA recommended that the proposal should provide more detailed guidance to a trustee and CFTC staff.

Click Here for the PDF

FIA Voices Strong Opposition to Proposed FINRA Rule Limiting Leverage in Retail FX Trading

The Futures Industry Association submitted a comment letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 4, 2010 urging the agency to reject a proposal by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that would set a limit on the amount of leverage used in retail trading of off-exchange currency products. The proposed limit is not coordinated with the current requirements set by the National Futures Association and would result in unequal treatment for firms that are dually registered as broker-dealers and futures commission merchants.

The letter noted that broker-dealers are only one of many different types of financial institutions that are permitted to act as counterparties to retail customers with respect to over-the-counter retail forex transactions. These include futures commission merchants, forex dealers, banks and insurance companies. By proposing to fix a leverage limitation that is significantly lower than market convention, the proposed rule effectively would prohibit dually registered entities from competing in this line of business, the letter argued.

“We respectfully submit that such a result is both self-defeating and unsound as a matter of regulatory policy,” the letter said.

Instead the SEC and FINRA should pursue a “coordinated regulatory approach” with the other regulatory agencies with authority in this area, namely the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the National Futures Association. “Such a coordinated regulatory approach would also provide a more level playing field, thereby assuring that no category of registrant…would have a competitive advantage,” the letter said.

Click Here for the Comment Letter

FIA, SIFMA Comment on FINCEN Proposals on Information Sharing Procedures

The Futures Industry Association and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association co-signed a Dec. 16 letter to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The two associations commented jointly on proposals regarding the expansion of special information sharing procedures that are intended to deter money laundering and terrorist activity. While FIA and SIFMA support efforts to combat terrorism and money laundering, they cautioned that the proposals could go beyond the intent of current law.

Click Here for the Comment Letter (1.5 MB)

FIA Supports KCBT Petition to Clear Wheat Swaps

The Futures Industry Association filed a comment letter on Dec. 14 supporting a petition by the Kansas City Board of Trade related to the clearing of wheat calendar swaps that are traded over-the-counter. The KCBT has asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for permission to hold the positions and the associated customer margin in segregated accounts. In supporting this request, the FIA noted that the CFTC had approved similar requests from ICE Clear U.S. and CME Group. The FIA also reiterated prior comments that the CFTC should develop “objective standards” for determining what OTC cleared-only products may be included in segregation.

Click Here for PDF

FIA Submits Comments on Changes to COT Reports

The Futures Industry Association on Oct. 1, 2009 submitted a comment letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in connection with the recent amendments to the commitment of traders report. FIA suggested that the Commission add information to the report clarifying trading included in each category and provide a review process of categories assigned to market participants. Additionally, FIA expressed strong support for the long-standing Commission policy of requesting public comment whenever possible before taking action that affects industry participants.

Click Here for Complete Text

FIA Sets Out Views on CFTC-SEC Regulatory Harmonization

The Futures Industry Association on Sept. 14, 2009 submitted a comment letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the possible harmonization of market regulation. The letter, which supplemented the FIA's participation in the joint hearings held by the two agencies on Sept. 2, emphasized that the goal of harmonization should be "comparable, not identical, regulation." The letter summarized the FIA's position on such issues as the listing of new products, the review of new rules, portfolio margining, insider trading, customer protections and mutual recognition. The letter also expressed support for fungibility and competition among execution platforms, recommended the adoption of uniform procedures for the liquidation of firms registered as both securities broker-dealers and futures commission merchants, called for a comprehensive review of market structure, supported principles-based regulation and opposed changes to the CFTC's anti-manipulation standard.

Click Here for the Text of the FIA's Comment Letter

FIA Comments on the Treatment of Cleared-Only Derivatives

The Futures Industry Association on Sept. 14, 2009 filed comment letters with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regarding two regulatory proposals related to the clearing of over-the-counter derivatives. One letter responded to proposed amendments to the CFTC's bankruptcy rules and the other to a petition by CME Group to commingle margins on credit default swaps with margins on exchange-traded futures and options.

Click Here for FIA Response to CFTC Proposal
Click Here for FIA Response to CME Petition

FIA Responds to CFTC Proposal to Collect Account Ownership Information

The FIA on Aug. 17, 2009 submitted a comment letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in response to a proposal to collect certain ownership, control and related data regarding customer accounts in the futures industry. The FIA recommended that the CFTC should proceed on this proposal only after establishing an industry-wide committee to address operational and other issues relating to the process for collecting such data. The FIA cautioned that these types of data are not uniform across the industry and are not collected in a uniform way, and warned that the proposed reporting requirements could put a heavy cost burden on the industry. The FIA also suggested that the CFTC’s work in this area should be coordinated with the broader efforts proposed by the Obama administration to collect more data on over-the-counter derivatives trading, and noted that the CFTC may be asked to work with the Securities and Exchange Commission to harmonize their reporting and record-keeping requirements.

Click Here for the PDF

FIA Seeks SEC, CFTC Coordination on Retail Foreign Currency Market Safeguards

The Futures Industry Association supports efforts to protect investors in the retail foreign currency markets and urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to coordinate with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on setting these safeguards. “FIA believes the best way to serve the interests of fair competition and investor protection would be to have the Commission and the CFTC coordinate policies in the retail FX area,” FIA wrote in its July 27, 2009 comments to the SEC on a proposal by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the self-regulatory organization for the securities industry. The FINRA plan, which must be approved by the SEC, establishes customer eligibility requirements and sets limits on leverage at a ratio of 1 to 1.5, in direct conflict with NFA rules that set ratios at 100 to 1 for major currencies and 25 to 1 for others. If the SEC approves FINRA’s rule, it is unlikely that entities registered as both broker-dealers and futures commission merchants would be able to participate in this market. FIA recommended that the SEC coordinate with the CFTC on these protections rather than approving the FINRA proposals, which the FIA believes would not only comport with the directive from President Obama to the two agencies to harmonize their respective regulatory approaches, it would also follow the path set out in the March 2008 Memorandum of Understanding agreement between the CFTC and SEC.

Click Here for the PDF

FIA Submits Comments on CFTC Rule 1.25, Regarding Investment of Customer Funds

The Futures Industry Association has recommended a range of changes to Rule 1.25 and 30.7 regarding the investment of customer funds. In its July 20 comment letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, FIA noted the current guidelines, which include several provisions that were recommended by the FIA, have “weathered the financial turmoil of the past year.” Despite the overall success of the current guidelines, the FIA offered several recommendations, including expanding the list of permitted investments while tightening certain provisions for the protection of customer assets. The FIA stated that it has “not identified any reason” to alter the requirement that investments purchased with customer funds be readily marketable. Furthermore, FIA stated that concentration limits set out in Rule 1.25 are generally appropriate, but among other things recommended shorter weighted average maturity and narrower parameters for investment in any one product.

Click Here for Comment Letter

FIA Responds to CFTC’s Proposed Changes to Capital Requirements

The FIA filed a comment letter with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on July 6 regarding proposed amendments to the minimum financial requirements for futures commission merchants and introducing brokers. The FIA letter endorsed several of the proposed amendments, including an increase in the minimum adjusted net capital of FCMs to $1 million, an increase in the capital required to calculate the risk-based capital requirement of non-customer positions, and the inclusion of cleared OTC derivatives in capital computations.

The FIA letter opposed several other proposed amendments, however. In particular, the FIA letter objected to the proposed increase in the percentage used in calculating the risk-based capital requirements for FCMs from 8% to 10%. The FIA letter also expressed strong opposition to requiring a joint FCM/broker-dealer to maintain adjusted net capital equal to the sum of the firm’s CFTC and SEC capital requirements, rather than the greater of the two requirements as the rule currently provides. The FIA letter warned that these latter changes would increase by “hundreds of millions of dollars” the capital requirements that each of the larger FCMs would face and could harm competition by encouraging the further concentration of customer funds in a handful of FCMs.

Click here for the PDF

FIA Comments on FINRA Suitability, Know-Your-Customer Proposals

The Futures Industry Association opposed suitability and know-your-customer rules proposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, warning the securities industry regulator that application of these securities rules “fails to recognize the inherent differences of the structure and customer base between traditional futures contracts and securities products” and should not be applied to commodity futures trading. In a June 29, 2009 comment letter to FINRA, FIA stated that commodity futures are exclusively governed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and that under the CFTC’s delegated powers, suitability standards are set forth by the National Futures Association. “Additionally, FIA does not support the extension, without further justification, of FINRA’s regulatory reach to unrelated activities of a FINRA-regulated entity, as a matter of principle,” FIA wrote, asserting that there is a “definitive difference” in the various types of products overseen by the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Click Here for Comment Letter

FIA/SIFMA File Joint Comment Letter on Fincen SAR Proposals

FIA and SIFMA filed a joint comment letter on rules proposed by the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network regarding Suspicious Activity Reports. In the June 8, 2009 joint letter, FIA and Sifma stressed the importance of firms being able to share these reports with all affiliates within the organiz ation regardless of whether foreign or domestic. In addition, FIA and SIFMA stressed the importance of permitting each organization to make its own assessment of how to maintain confidentiality among affiliates receiving those SARs rather than imposing an obligation to establish confidentiality agreements between affiliates.

Click here for full .pdf version

Joint Trade Association Letter Opposing Dorgan Amendments to Energy Bill

FIA, Financial Services Roundtable, ISDA, SIFMA and The Financial Services Fourm sent a joint letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee expressing strong concern over amendments offered by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), warning of their potential adverse impact to markets.

Click here for full .pdf version

FIA Submits Comments on IOSCO’s Report on Direct Electronic Access

The Futures Industry Association on May 26, 2009 submitted comments to the International Organization of Securities Commissions regarding its consultation paper on direct electronic access. The comments covered a number of issues, including minimum customer standards, the importance of legally binding agreements, the delegation of access privileges, customer identification, pre- and post-trade information, and risk systems and controls. The FIA highlighted some of the findings in its September 2007 joint study with the Futures and Options Association on risk controls, and emphasized that futures commission merchants rather than regulators are best situated to determine appropriate risk management for their business.

Click here for more information

FIA Responds to CFTC Proposal to Clarify Seg Funds Obligations

The Futures Industry Association filed a comment letter with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on March 23, 2009 regarding a CFTC proposal to clarify the obligations incurred by depository banks when accepting customer funds. The FIA said it “generally supports” the proposed regulations, but asked the CFTC to provide more time for the industry to comply with the regulations. The obligations are spelled out in acknowledgement letters provided by depositories to futures commission merchants and designated clearing organizations, and changing the terms of these letters “is frequently a lengthy process,” the FIA said. To streamline the process, the FIA recommended that the CFTC support an industry-wide effort to develop a standardized acknowledgement letter and also consider electronic filing.

Click here for full .pdf version

FIA Opposes FINRA’s Proposed Leverage Limitation for Retail Forex

The FIA filed a comment letter with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Feb. 20, 2009, to express its opposition to a proposed “leverage limitation” on retail foreign exchange trading. The proposed rule would apply to registered broker-dealers that engage in off-exchange forex transactions with retail customers. The FIA noted that most large futures commission merchants are either registered as broker-dealers or affiliated with broker-dealers and therefore may be affected by the proposed rule. The FIA said the proposed leverage limitation would be “far lower” than necessary and would effectively ban broker-dealers from this line of business. The FIA also noted that the proposed rule would run counter to the judgment of Congress, as expressed in the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, and urged FINRA to coordinate with other regulators with jurisdiction in this area.

Click here for full .pdf version

FIA Supports Amendments to CFTC Conflict of Interest Practices

The FIA filed a comment letter with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Feb. 20, 2009 to express its support for proposed amendments to the CFTC’s “Acceptable Practice” for compliance with the core principle on avoiding conflicts of interest. A central feature of this acceptable practice is the standard that public directors should comprise 35% of a designated contract market’s board of directors.

“As the Commission’s Acceptable Practice makes plain, any potential director with a relationship to the DCM or its members that could affect the independent judgment of that director should not be a public director,” the FIA said. “FIA believes the Acceptable Practice for Core Principle 15 will achieve its goal of strengthening self-regulation in the futures industry consistent with the public interest. We look forward to the adoption of the proposed amendments and the implementation of the Acceptable Practice.”

Click here for full .pdf version

FIA Suggests Changes to Anti-Money Laundering Reporting Form

The Futures Industry Association submitted a letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Feb. 3, 2009 suggesting several changes to the form used by securities and futures firms to report suspicious activity. Among other things, the FIA said the form should be revised so that there is more space for information and recommended several specific changes to accommodate the international scope of the futures industry. FinCEN is the anti-money laundering arm of the U.S. Treasury Department.

Click here to download the PDF Version

FIA “Strongly Supports” Proposed CFTC Exemption for Foreign Brokers

Washington—Feb. 27, 2008—The FIA has filed a comment letter with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission saying it “strongly supports” a proposed exemption from the CFTC’s registration requirements for foreign brokers that are affiliated with U.S. futures commission merchants. The proposed exemption, which was requested by the FIA Law & Compliance Division, “has become increasingly important to FCMs and their affiliates as their institutional customers extend their trading activities to a growing number of international markets,” the FIA letter said. As explained in the letter, the proposed exemption would codify several no-action letters adopted by the CFTC’s Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight, “pursuant to which foreign affiliates of certain U.S. FCMs have been authorized to accept orders from U.S. institutional customers for execution on U.S. designated contract markets notwithstanding that such affiliates are not registered with the commission as introducing brokers.” The exemption would be limited to foreign firms that are affiliated with a registered FCM and that already have obtained exemptive relief from the CFTC pursuant to Regulation 30.10. In addition, the foreign firm would not be permitted to solicit any U.S. customers for trading on U.S. markets nor handle any U.S. customer funds for trading on U.S. markets.

FIA Urges Treasury to Endorse Principles-Based Regulation, Says Merger of CFTC with SEC Should Be Last Step

The Futures Industry Association submitted a comment letter to the Treasury Department on Nov. 20, 2007 outlining its views on the structure of financial services regulation in the U.S.

Read more »

FIA Files Comment Letter with U.K.’s FSA Regarding Proposed Telephone Recording Requirement

The FIA filed a comment letter with the Financial Services Authority on Aug. 3, 2007, expressing opposition to a proposed requirement that all telephone conversations be recorded.

Read more »

Comments on Proposed National Instrument 31-103 - Registration Requirements

The Futures Industry Association (“FIA”) is pleased to provide this comment letter to the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) with respect to Proposed National Instrument 31-103 – Registration Requirements (“NI 31-103”).

View Comment letter

“What Constitutes a Board of Trade Located Outside of the United States,” 71 Fed. Reg. 34070 (June 13, 2006)

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has requested public comment on when a board of trade should be considered to be "located outside the Unites States" for purposes of Section 4(a) of the Commodity Exchange Act. 71 Fed. Reg. 34070 (June 13, 2006).

View Comment letter

Exemption From Registration for Certain Foreign Persons

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently proposed amendments to its futures commission merchant registration rules to exempt from U.S. registration brokers outside the U.S. that are engaged in the offer and sale of futures and options traded on U.S. exchanges solely to non-U.S. customers.

Read more »

"Regulatory Governance," Proposed Acceptable Practices

FIA response to CFTC request for public comment on its "Proposed Acceptable Practices for compliance with section 5(d)(15) of the Commodity Exchange Act".
August 28, 2006
» FIA Comment Letter

Review of Ontario's Commodity Futures Act

Comment Letter to the Ontario Commodity Futures Act Advisory Committee with respect to the Committee's Interim Report.
August 25, 2006
» FIA Comment Letter

Regulation of Derivatives Markets in Quebec

FIA response to the AMF report entitled "Regulation of Derivatives Markets in Quebec"
August 25, 2006
» FIA Comment Letter

What Constitutes a Board of Trade Located Outside of the United States

FIA responds to CFTC request for comments on when a board of trade should be considered to be "located outside the United States".
August 1, 2006
» FIA Comment Letter

FIA Seeks Clarification of Proposed Rules for Debt Index Futures

Proposed Rules: Application of the Definition of Narrow-Based Security Index to Debt Securities Indexes and Security Futures on Debt Securities
May 16, 2006
» FIA Comment Letter

FIA Comment Letter on Section 312 of USA PATRIOT Act

Joint Comment Letter on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the Department of the Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network relating to a proposed regulation to implement the provisions of Section 312 of the USA PATRIOT Act that require enhanced due diligence for correspondent accounts established, maintained, administered or managed for certain types of foreign banks.
March 6, 2006
» Joint Comment Letter

FIA Outlines Views on Self-Regulation

Responding to a request from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the FIA on Jan. 23 filed a comment letter outlining its views on a number of issues related to the futures industry's self-regulatory system, including the governance of self-regulatory organization, the composition of disciplinary committees, and the need for transparency in exchange rule-making.
January 25, 2006
» FIA Comment Letter

Opposition to Proposed CFTC Reauthorization Legislation

Associations urge postponement of December 7 markup to allow further revisions to House Agriculture Committee draft bill.
December 7, 2005
» Joint Comment Letter

FIA Comments on CSE Rules

FIA comments on amendments proposed in CFTC Federal Register from October 11, 2005: Alternative Market Risk and Credit Risk Capital Charges for Futures Commission Merchants and Specified Foreign Currency and Inventory Charges.
November 28, 2005
» FIA Comment Letter

CESR-CFTC Communiqué Requests Comments on Common Work Program to Facilitate Trans-Atlantic Derivatives Business

Filed May 25, 2005
» FIA Comment Letter

Consultation Paper on The Proposal for the Removal of Barrier 1 of the Giovannini Report

SWIFT s.c.
Filed April 14, 2005
» FIA Comment Letter

Proposed Withdrawal of Staff Interpretation

70 Fed. Reg. 5417 (February 2, 2005)
Filed April 5, 2005
» FIA Comment Letter

CBOE/NYSE Customer Portfolio and Cross Margining Requirements

CBOE Customer Portfolio and Cross Margining Requirements File Number SR-CBOE-2002-03, 69 Fed.Reg. 77275
NYSE Customer Portfolio and Cross Margining Requirements File Number SR-NYSE-2002-19, 69 Fed.Reg. 77287
Filed March 4, 2005
» FIA Comment Letter

Proposed Amendments to Commission Rule 1.55(d)(1)—Distribution of Risk Disclosure Statement

69 Fed.Reg. 64873 (November 9, 2004)
Filed December 7, 2004
» FIA Comment letter

The Governance of Self Regulatory Organizations

69 Fed.Reg. 32326
Filed September 30, 2004
» FIA Comment Letter

Execution of Transactions: Rule 1.38 and Guidance on Core Principle 9

69 Fed.Reg. 39880
Filed August 27, 2004
» FIA Comment Letter

Futures Market Self-Regulation

69 Fed.Reg. 19166
Filed June 18, 2004
» FIA Comment Letter

Futures Commission Merchant and Introducing Broker Customer Identification Rule—Request for No-Action Position

Filed May 5, 2004
» FIA Comment Letter

NASD Notice to Members 04-07: Policy on Trail Commissions in Publicly Offered Commodity Pools

» FIA Comment Letter

Designation of U.S. Futures Exchange L.L.C. as a Contract Market

» FIA Comment Letter

Joint Trade Association Letter regarding the Eurex US Application

» FIA Comment Letter

Joint Industry Letter Opposing Feinstein Amendment

The FIA is participating in a broad coalition of trade groups that are urging members of the Senate to oppose energy derivatives legislation proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and co-sponsored by several other members of the Senate. Feinstein is preparing to offer her bill as an amendment to the comprehensive energy legislation now being considered on the Senate floor. In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), the coalition warned that Feinstein's bill contains provisions that would expand the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's jurisdiction and create "uncertainty and unnecessary jurisdictional confusion" between the FERC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The coalition also warned that the amendment would create legal uncertainty within the OTC derivatives markets and call into question the CFTC's exclusive jurisdiction over futures and options on futures.
» Joint Industry Letter (May 2003)

Joint industry letter opposing the Energy Markets Amendment sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.)
» Joint Industry Letter (Nov. 2003)

US Futures Exchange LLC

» FIA Comment Letter

Proposed Amendments to Rule 1.25—Investment of Customer Funds

68 Fed.Reg. 38654 (June 30, 2003)
» FIA Comment Letter

Minimum Financial and Related Reporting Requirements for Futures Commission Merchants and Introducing Brokers

68 Fed.Reg. 40835 (July 9, 2003)
» FIA Comment Letter

Customer Identification Programs for FCMs and IBs

» FIA Comment Letter

FIA Comment Letter on CBOT and CME Rules

» FIA Comment Letter

NPRM—Suspicious Transaction Reporting—Futures Commission Merchants and Introducing Brokers in Commodities

68 Fed. Reg. 23,653 (May 5, 2003)
» FIA Comment Letter

FIA Comments on CBOT/CME Link

» FIA Comment Letter

Proposed Amendments to Rule 1.35(a-1)(5)—Post-Execution Allocation of Bunched Orders

68 Fed.Reg. 12319 (March 14, 2003)
» FIA Comment Letter
» CFTC Proposed Rule Revisions

Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on CPO and CTA Registration Exemptions

» FIA Comment Letter

Proposed Rules Relating to Credit by Brokers and Dealers; Security Futures

67 Fed. Reg. 62,214 (October 4, 2002); Docket No. R?1131
» FIA Comment Letter

Reserve Requirements for Margin Related to Security Futures Products

67 Fed.Reg. 59748 (September 23, 2002), File No. S7-34-02
» FIA Comment Letter

Proposed Rule 1.49—Foreign Depositories

67 Fed.Reg. 52641 (August 13, 2002)
» FIA Comment Letter

Proposed Suspicious Activity Report by the Securities and Futures Industry (SAR-SF)

October 4, 2002
» FIA Comment Letter

Joint Association Letter to U.S. Senate

Against adoption of proposed energy derivativeslegislation as a part of final legislative initiatives opposing any attempt to approve controversial, detrimental and anti-competitive derivativeslegislation.
» Joint Comment Letter

NASD Gross Income Assessments, 67 Fed.Reg. 55893

August 30, 2002
» CFTC Comment Letter

Section 326 Proposed Rule—Customer Identification

67 Fed.Reg. 48238, July 23, 2002
» FIA Comment Letter

FIA/SIA Review of the FATF Forty Recommendations Consultation Paper

August 30, 2002
» FIA/SIA Comment Letter

Release No. 34-46186; File No. SR-NASD-2002-40

August 9, 2002
» FIA Comment Letter

Interim Relief Related to the Trading of Foreign Security Futures Products

July 3, 2002

Notice of proposed rulemaking on anti-money laundering due diligence programs for certain foreign accounts

July 1, 2002
» FIA Comment Letter

FIA/SIA Joint Comment Letter

National Futures Association Proposed Interpretive Notice to NFA Compliance Rule 2-4 Regarding Broker-Dealer Best Execution Obligations with Respect to Security Futures
Release No. 34-45720; SEC File No. SR-NFA-2002-02
» Joint Comment Letter

NFA Interpretive Notice Regarding Supervision of Automated Order Routing Systems

67 Fed.Reg. 14701 (March 27, 2002)
April 26, 2002
» FIA Comment Letter

Senator Feinstein’s amendment to S.517

April 8, 2002
» FIA Comment Letter

Study of the Commodity Exchange Act and Rules Thereunder

66 Fed. Reg. 33531 (June 22, 2001)
April 5, 2002
» FIA Comment Letter

Special Information Sharing Procedures to Deter Money Laundering and Terrorist Activities

Attention: Proposed Rule -- Special Information Sharing Section 314
April 3, 2002
» FIA Comment Letter

NPRM – Suspicious Transaction Reporting – Brokers or Dealers in Securities

March 1, 2002
» FIA Comment Letter

Interim Report: Recommendations for Standardization of Protocol and Content of Order Flow

February 20, 2002
» Comment Letter