Section 2(i) of the Commodity Exchange Act (âCEAâ) provides the Commission) with express authority over activities outside the United States relating to swaps when certain conditions are met. Specifically, section 2(i) provides that the swaps provisions of the CEA enacted by Title VII (âTitle VIIâ) of the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010 (âDodd-Frank Actâ) (including any rule prescribed or regulation promulgated under the CEA) do not apply to activities outside the United States (âU.S.â) unless such activities have a âdirect and significant connection with activities in, or effect on, commerce of the United Statesâ or they contravene Commission rules or regulations as are necessary or appropriate to prevent evasion of the swaps provisions of the CEA enacted under Title VII.
The Commission is proposing a rule (âProposed Ruleâ) addressing the cross-border application of certain swaps provisions of the CEA, as added by Title VII. The Proposed Rule defines key terms for purposes of applying these CEAâs swaps provisions to cross-border transactions, addresses the cross-border application of the registration thresholds and certain requirements (âGroup A and Group B Requirementsâ) applicable to swap dealers and major swap participants, and establishes a formal process for requesting comparability determinations for such requirements from the Commission.
As part of the Proposed Rule, the Commission is proposing to permit certain swap dealers and major swap participants registered with the Commission (âswap entitiesâ) to comply with a foreign jurisdictionâs swap standards in lieu of the Group A and Group B Requirements in certain cases, provided that the Commission determines that such foreign standards are comparable to such requirements. The Proposed Rule would implement a process pursuant to which the Commission would conduct these comparability determinations, including outlining procedures for initiating such determinations. A comparability determination could be requested by swap entities that are eligible for substituted compliance for the Group A and Group B Requirements, their trade associations, and foreign regulatory authorities meeting certain requirements. Applicants seeking a comparability determination would be required to furnish certain information to the Commission that provides a comprehensive explanation of the foreign jurisdictionâs relevant swap standards, including how they might differ from the corresponding requirements in the CEA and the Group A and Group B Requirements and how, notwithstanding such differences, the foreign jurisdictionâs swap standards achieve comparable outcomes to those of the Commission. Once a comparability determination is made for a jurisdiction, it would apply for all entities or transactions in that jurisdiction to the extent provided in the comparability determination, as approved by the Commission and subject to any conditions specified by the Commission. The information collection would be necessary for the Commission to consider whether the foreign jurisdictionâs relevant swap standards are comparable to the Commissionâs requirements.
The regulations associated with this new collection information request are designed to, consistent with section 2(i) of the CEA, provide for a substituted compliance process for the Group A and Group B Requirements.
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.