Section 4d(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act (âCEAâ), 7 U.S.C. 6d(c), requires the CFTC to consult with the Securities and Exchange Commission (âSECâ) and issue such rules, regulations, or orders as are necessary to avoid duplicative or conflicting regulations applicable to firms that are fully registered with the SEC as brokers or dealers and the CFTC as futures commission merchants involving provisions of the CEA that pertain to the treatment of customer funds. The CFTC, jointly with the SEC, issued regulations requiring such dually-registered firms to make choices as to how its customersâ transactions in security futures products will be treated, either as securities transactions held in a securities account or as futures transactions held in a futures account. How an account is treated is important in the unlikely event of the insolvency of the firm. Only securities accounts receive insurance protection under provisions of the Securities Investor Protection Act. By contrast, only futures accounts are subject to the protections provided by the segregation requirements of the CEA.
The adjustments are based on the Commissionâs experience from approximately the past 10 years of receiving product and rule submissions pursuant to §§ 41.23 and 41.24. The revisions reflect a reduction in the average number of product filings received by the Commission annually during this time frame from 146 to 60, a reduction in the number of rule filings received annually from eight to six, and a reduction in the number of respondents submitting the product and rule filings from three to one.
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.