[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 127 (Monday, July 3, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34458-34459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-16230]



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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION

17 CFR Part 30


Foreign Option Transactions

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Order.

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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) is 
issuing this Order pursuant to which option contracts on a spot foreign 
exchange operation between the Great Britain Pound and the Deutsche 
Mark (GBP/DEM) and the Deutsche Mark and the Italian Lira (DEM/ITL) 
traded on the Marche a Terme International de France (MATIF) may be 
offered or sold to persons located in the United States. This Order is 
issued pursuant to: (1) Commission rule 30.3(a), 17 CFR 30.3(a), which 
makes it unlawful for any person to engage in the offer or sale of a 
foreign option product until the Commission, by order, authorizes such 
foreign option to be offered or sold in the United States; and (2) the 
procedures established in the Commission's Order issued on June 6, 
1990, 55 FR 23902 (June 13, 1990) (Mutual Recognition Memorandum of 
Understanding (MRMOU) with the French Commission des Operations de 
Bourse).

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 2, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Francey L. Youngberg, Esq., Division 
of Trading and Markets, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 2033 K 
Street NW., Washington, D.C. 20581. Telephone: (202) 254-8955

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission has issued the following 
Order:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

BEFORE THE

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION

    Order Pursuant to the Mutual Recognition Memorandum of 
Understanding with the French Commission des Operations de Bourse 
and Rule 30.3(a) Permitting Option Contracts on the GBP/DEM and DEM/
ITL Traded on the Marche a Terme International de France (MATIF) To 
Be Offered or Sold to Persons Located in the United States Thirty 
Days After Publication of This Notice in the Federal Register Absent 
Further Notice

    By Order issued on December 17, 1991 (Initial Order),1 the 
Commission authorized, pursuant to the Mutual Recognition Memorandum 
of Understanding (MRMOU) 2 and Commission rule 30.3(a),3 
certain option products traded on the MATIF to be offered or sold in 
the United States.

    \1\ See 56 FR 66345 (December 23, 1991).
    \2\ See 55 FR 23902 (June 13, 1990). Among other things, this 
arrangement provides a mechanism pursuant to which certain option 
products traded on the Marche a Terme International de France 
(MATIF) may be offered or sold to customers resident in the United 
States thirty days after publication in the Federal Register of a 
notice specifying the particular option contracts to be offered or 
sold.
    \3\ Commission rule 30.3(a), 17 CFR 30.3(a), makes it unlawful 
for any person to engage in the offer or sale of a foreign option 
product until the Commission, by order, authorizes such foreign 
option to be offered or sold in the United States.
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    By letter dated May 17, 1995, MATIF notified the Commission that on 
May 22, 1995 it would be introducing option contracts based on the GBP/
DEM and DEM/ITL and requested that the Commission supplement its 
Initial Order authorizing the offer and sale in the United States of 
Options on the Notional Bond, the 3-month PIBOR, the 3-month EURODEM 
Futures Contracts; a Supplemental Order, 57 FR 10987 (April 1, 1992), 
authorizing the offer and sale in the United States of Options on the 
Long-Term ECU Bond Futures Contracts; and a Supplemental Order, 59 FR 
22971 (May 4, 1994), authorizing the offer and sale in the United 
States of Options on the USD/DM and USD/FRF by also authorizing the 
MATIF's Option Contracts on the GBP/DEM and DEM/ITL to be offered or 
sold to persons located in the United States.4 Based upon the 
foregoing, and pursuant to the terms of the MRMOU, the Commission 
hereby publishes this Order in the Federal Register pursuant to which 
the particular option contracts specified herein may be offered or sold 
thirty days after the publication of this Order.

    \4\ See letter dated May 17, 1995 from Patrick Stephan, MATIF, 
to Jane C. Kang, Commission and letter dated May 23, 1995 from 
Frederic Perier, Commission des Operations de Bourse, to Andrea M. 
Corcoran, Commission.
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    Accordingly, pursuant to Commission rule 30.3(a), 17 CFR 30.3(a), 
and Article II, paragraph 6(b) and Article V, paragraph 6 of the MRMOU 
signed by the Commission on June 6, 1990 (55 FR 23902 (June 13, 1990)), 
and subject to the terms and conditions specified in the MRMOU, the 
Commission hereby issues this Order pursuant to which option contracts 
based on the GBP/DEM and DEM/ITL traded on the MATIF may be offered or 
sold to persons located in the United States thirty days after 
publication of this Order in the Federal Register, unless prior to that 
date the Commission receives any comments which may result in a 
determination to delay the effective date of the Order pending review 
of such comments. Under such circumstances the Commission will provide 
notice.
Contract Specifications

GBP/DEM Option (SDM)
Type
    European style
Underlying Interest
    Spot currency transaction GBP against DEM
Contract Size
    GBP 50,000 

[[Page 34459]]

Strike Price
    Expressed in DEM, with 2 decimals.
    Strike price intervals: 2 Pfennigs (2.32-2.34)
    At least 11 closest-to-the-money (5 on each side)
Quotation
    Premium in % of the GBP nominal, with 2 decimals.
    Ex: 0.45% stands for 0.45 x 500 = GBP 225
    In specific cases, premium with 3 decimals
Tick
    Size: 0.01%
    Value: 0.01 x 500 = GBP 5
Expiration
    3 monthly + 3 quarterly expirations from March (H), June (M), 
September (U), December (Z)
Last Trading Day
    Thursday following the 3rd Wednesday of expiration month at 9:00 am 
(New York time)
First Trading Day
    First business day following an expiration date
Exercise
    After settlement of a spot-fixing on the expiration date, automatic 
exercise of in-the-money options Exercise: exchange of underlying 
currencies
Trading Hours
    Open outcry: 9:15 am to 5:00 pm (Paris time)
    THS (after hours trading): 5:00 pm to 9:15 am
DEM/ITL Option (MLI)
Type
    European style
Underlying Interest
    Spot currency transaction DEM against ITL
Contract Size
    DEM 100,000
Strike Price
    Expressed in ITL, without decimal.
    Strike price intervals: Liras 10 (1070-1080)
    At least 11 closest-to-the-money (5 on each side)
Quotation
    Premium in % of the DEM nominal, with 2 decimals.
    Ex: 0.45% stands for 100,000 x 0.45/100 = DEM 450
    In specific cases, premium with 3 decimals
Tick
    Size: 0.01%
    Value: 0.01/100 x 100,000 = DEM 10
Expiration
    3 monthly + 3 quarterly expirations from March (H), June (M), 
September (U), December (Z)
Last Trading Day
    Thursday following the 3rd Wednesday of expiration month at 9:00 am 
(New York time)
First Trading Day
    First business day following an expiration date
Exercise
    After settlement of a spot-fixing on the expiration date, automatic 
exercise of in-the-money options Exercise: exchange of underlying 
currencies
Trading Hours
    Open outcry: 9:15 am to 5:00 pm (Paris time)
    THS (after hours trading): 5:00 pm to 9:15 am

List of Subjects in 17 CFR Part 30

    Commodity futures, Commodity options, Foreign transactions.

    Accordingly, 17 CFR Part 30 is amended as set forth below:

PART 30--FOREIGN FUTURES AND FOREIGN OPTION TRANSACTIONS

    1. The authority citation for Part 30 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Secs. 2(a)(1)(A), 4, 4c, and 8a of the Commodity 
Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 2, 6, 6c and 12a.

    2. Appendix B to Part 30 is amended by adding the following entry 
after the existing entries for the ``Marche a Terme International de 
France'' to read as follows:

  Appendix B.--Option Contracts Permitted To Be Offered or Sold in the  
                     U.S. Pursuant to Sec.  30.3(a)                     
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        Exchange              Type of contract      FR date and citation
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                  *        *        *        *        *                 
Marche a Terme            Option Contracts on       July 3, 1995; XX FR 
 International de France.  Great Britain Pound and   XX                 
                           the Deutsche Mark (GBP/                      
                           DEM) and the Deutsche                        
                           Mark and Italian Lira                        
                           (DEM/ITL).                                   
                                                                        
                  *        *        *        *        *                 
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    Issued in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 1995.
Jean A. Webb,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 95-16230 Filed 6-30-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P