In June of 2008, the US Congress passed the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-246, 122 Stat. 1651,2189-2204 (2008). That Bill provided the CFTC with new authority with regard to the regulation of off-exchange retail forex transactions. Among other things, it directed the Commission to draft rules requiring the registration of counterparties offering off-exchange forex transactions to retail customers as either futures commission merchants (FCMs) or retail foreign exchange dealers (RFEDs). In response, the Commission enacted Part 5 of Title 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations which among other things, requires RFEDs and forex FCMs and IBs to: develop and distribute risk disclosure documents to all customers; provide early warning notices of failure to meet financial requirements; maintain records regarding material affiliates; file initial risk management policies and annual risk assessments; file initial financial statements by persons applying to be RFEDs and the filing of monthly statements thereafter; provide customers with monthly and trade confirmation statements; provide the Commission with copies of customer complaints and notice of certain legal proceedings in which they are involved; and provide the Commission with notice of bulk transfers and liquidations.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.