CFTC extends no-action relief for non-US SDs

In a move that would not surprise the least-seasoned CFTC-watcher, the agency wasted no time on 3^rd January, in issuing its first no-action of the 2014. The CFTC has extended the no-action relief provided by letter 13-71 (14 January 2014) until 15^th September 2014. Letter 13-71 promised no enforcement action for the failure of non-US SDs to comply with Transaction Level reporting requirements. The extension is in response to concern that timely compliance with the CFTC’s November advisory, clarifying the true extent of Footnote 513’s ambition, may result in market disruption.

As noted in other posts, the CFTC is famously under-resourced, and given the controversy surrounding the November advisory, this no-action letter was always a prime candidate for a lengthy extension. However there must come a point where the agency’s (necessarily) “pragmatic” policy is indistinguishable from pusillanimity.