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“As a result of the trade execution mandate, many swaps for the first time will trade on regulated platforms and benefit from market-wide, pre-trade transparency", said Acting Chairman Wetjen. “These measures, in conjunction with the Commission’s implementation of the trade execution mandate, will maximise the level of trading on these regulated platforms and support the transition to a transparent, risk-reducing swap-market structure under CFTC oversight.” Wetjen also emphasised that “these platforms promise to improve pricing for the buy-side, commercial end-users, and other participants and add to liquidity by streamlining participation in the swap markets".
In order to protect the identities of counterparties trading on SEFs and incentivise anonymous trading on regulated platforms, the Commission issued an interim final rule clarifying that consistent with the requirements of section 21(c)(6) of the Commodity Exchange Act, a party to an anonymous trade executed on a SEF or designated contract market (DCM) cannot access information in swap data repositories in order to obtain the identity of its counterparty.
DMO issued a no-action letter providing relief until May 15, 2014 from mandatory trading of certain swaps executed as part of a “package transaction". Accordingly, DMO reminds swap execution facilities (SEFs) that they may facilitate the trading of swaps subject to the trade mandate, if executed as part of such a “package transaction", only if (i) the methods for executing such swaps comply with the trading protocols applicable to Required Transactions in § 37.9 of the Commission’s regulations or (ii) such SEFs have rules in effect that permit the trading of package transactions under the terms of the relief.
DMO published guidance clarifying that while Rule 37.202(b) requires that market participants trading on a SEF consent to its jurisdiction, it is a reasonable interpretation that such consent need not be obtained through an affirmative writing. DMO stated that at this time a SEF may comply with Rule 37.202(b) by providing in its rulebook that any person initiating or executing a transaction on or subject to the rules of the SEF directly or through an intermediary, and any person for whose benefit such a transaction has been initiated or executed, consents to the jurisdiction of the SEF.
DMO has published on the CFTC's website a centralised list of swaps subject to the mandate. This dedicated webpage is intended to provide notice to market participants of the swaps subject to the mandate and includes specific terms defining each such swap.