[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5576-5578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2238]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for New 
Collection--3038-NEW, Registration Under the CEA--Proposed 
Questionnaire to Regulation 30.10 Relief Recipients (17 CFR Part 30)

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission

ACTION: Notice--proposed questionnaire.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq., Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, 
and to allow 60 days for comment in response to the notice. The 
Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight (DCIO) of the Commodity 
Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is proposing to send a questionnaire 
to obtain updated information on the current laws and market 
developments of each jurisdiction in which exemptive relief was granted 
by the Commission pursuant to Regulation 30.10.

DATES: Comments must be received by April 5, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons should submit their views and comments to 
Secretary of the Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 1155 
21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20581. In addition, comments may be 
sent by facsimile transmission to number (202) 418-5521, or by 
electronic mail to [email protected]. Reference should be made to 
``Commission Regulation 30.10 Questionnaire.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Chapin, Associate Director, or 
Andrea Musalem, Attorney-Advisor, Division of Clearing and Intermediary 
Oversight, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20581. Telephone: (202) 418-5167.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    CFTC Regulation 30.10 allows persons located and doing business 
outside the U.S., who are subject to a comparable regulatory framework 
in the country in which they are located, to seek an exemption from the 
application of certain of the Part 30 regulations. Regulation 30.10 
expressly states that, upon petition, the Commission may exempt any 
person from any requirement of the Part 30 regulations. If the 
Commission grants an exemption, persons located and doing business 
outside the U.S. may solicit or accept orders directly from U.S. 
customers for foreign futures or options transactions without 
registering under the Act as FCMs.
    A petition for exemption pursuant to Regulation 30.10 is typically 
filed on behalf of persons located and doing business outside the U.S. 
that seek access to U.S. customers by (1) a governmental agency 
responsible for implementing and enforcing the foreign regulatory 
program, or (2) a self-regulatory organization (SRO) of which such 
persons are members. A petitioner who seeks an exemption pursuant to 
Regulation 30.10, based on substituted compliance with a non-U.S. 
regulatory framework that is comparable to the Act and rules 
thereunder, must set forth with particularity the comparable 
regulations applicable in the jurisdiction in which that person is 
located. In essence, a petitioner under Regulation 30.10 must present, 
with particularity, the factual basis for a finding of comparability 
and the reasons why the policies and purposes of the Commission's 
regulatory program are met, notwithstanding any differences of degree 
or kind in the petitioner's regulatory program.
    Appendix A to Part 30 (Appendix A) articulates standards to be used 
by staff in assessing whether a foreign

[[Page 5577]]

regulatory system is comparable.\1\ These standards involve inquiry 
into the following areas: (1) Registration, authorization or other form 
of licensing, fitness review or qualification of persons through which 
customer orders are solicited and accepted; (2) minimum financial 
requirements for those persons that accept customer funds; (3) 
protection of customer funds from misapplication; (4) recordkeeping and 
reporting requirements; (5) minimum sales practice standards, including 
disclosure of the risks of futures and options transactions and, in 
particular, the risk of transactions undertaken outside the 
jurisdiction of domestic law; (6) compliance; and (7) information-
sharing.
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    \1\ ``Interpretative Statement With Respect to the Commission's 
Exemptive Authority Under Sec.  30.10 of its Rules,'' l7 C.R Part 
30, Appendix A.
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II. The Proposed Questionnaire

    Currently, there are 13 foreign entities \2\ (two regulators and 11 
futures exchanges) that have a Regulation 30.10 exemption some of which 
date back to the late eighties, early nineties. Consequently, the 
Commission's Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight (DCIO) 
would like to embark upon a program whereby each year, DCIO sends out a 
questionnaire to exemption recipients inquiring as to material and 
other relevant changes that impacted our could impact the fundamentals 
for which exemptive relief was granted in the first place.
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    \2\ The 13 foreign entities are represented by the following 
jurisdictions: The United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Germany, 
Canada, France, Spain, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan.
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    The proposed 2010 Questionnaire will ask the following questions:

    The following questions relate to material changes that have 
occurred since the original filing of the 30.10 petition. Please 
answer the following questions in detail.
    1. Have there been any material changes with regards to the 
identity or organization of the original Petitioner (i.e. change in 
control, change in name, change in structure, etc.)?
    2. Has there been a change in the role of the government, the 
regulator, or the self-regulatory organization(s) which has or could 
potentially impact their supervision of and their enforcement powers 
over the exchange and its members?
    3. Has there been any material change in the legal framework 
which impacted or could impact any of the following:
    a. Registration, authorization or other form of licensing, 
fitness review or qualification of persons through which customer 
orders are solicited and accepted;
    b. Minimum financial requirements for those persons that accept 
customer funds;
    c. Protection of customer funds from misapplication;
    d. Recordkeeping and reporting requirements;
    e. Minimum sales practice standards, including disclosure of 
risks of futures and options transactions and, in particular, the 
risk of transactions undertaken outside the jurisdiction of domestic 
law; and
    f. Compliance (i.e. any change in oversight structure which 
impacted or could impact the governmental authority or the self-
regulatory organization's ability to audit Part 30 firms for 
compliance with, or take action against persons that violate the 
requirements of the Part 30 program).
    4. What changes, if any, have occurred in insolvency laws as 
they affect futures customers? If there have been changes to 
insolvency laws, have the changes occurred within the past two to 
three years? To what extent do you view any recently proposed 
changes to insolvency laws as resulting from the 2008-09 financial 
crisis?
    5. Security futures products have both an equity component and a 
futures component. Consequently, in what accounts are security 
futures products held (i.e. the equity account, the futures account, 
or a combined account)? Are security futures products subject to 
separate disclosure and margin requirements than those required for 
plain vanilla futures products?
    6. Please provide an updated list of all firms with relief under 
the Regulation 30.10 exemption.
    7. Since the granting of the original exemption, please affirm 
whether 30.10 firms have been subject to arbitration and/or 
disciplinary proceedings arising from transactions with U.S. 
customers. To the best extent possible, please provide the number of 
times and a brief description of such proceedings.
    8. Please provide the name and contact information for 
individuals to whom follow up questions might be directed.

III. Related Matters

A. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (``RFA''), 5 U.S.C. 601-611, 
requires that agencies, in proposing rules, consider the impact of 
those rules on small businesses. The Commission has previously 
established certain definitions of ``small entities'' to be used by the 
Commission in evaluating the impact of its rules on such entities in 
accordance with the RFA.\3\ The proposed Questionnaire discussed herein 
would affect foreign futures exchanges and/or foreign securities 
regulators who sought and obtained Regulation 30.10 exemptive relief on 
behalf of its members and/or regulatees. Foreign regulators and 
exchanges are not included in the definition of ``small entities'' per 
47 FR 18618 and 66 FR 42256. Therefore, the Chairman, on behalf of the 
Commission, hereby certifies, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this 
proposed Questionnaire will not have an economic impact on a small 
entities. Nonetheless, the Commission specifically requests comment on 
the impact this proposed Questionnaire may have on small entities. 
Nonetheless, the Commission specifically requests comment on the impact 
this proposed Questionnaire may have on small entities--New 
Collection--3038.XXXX.
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    \3\ 47 FR 18618-18621 (April 30, 1982).
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B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    When publishing a proposed questionnaire, the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 \4\ imposes certain requirements on federal agencies 
(including the Commission) in connection with their conducting or 
sponsoring any collection of information as defined by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. In compliance with the Act, the Commission, through this 
Questionnaire proposal, solicits comments to: (1) Evaluate whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions used; (2) evaluate the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (3) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and (4) minimize the burden of the collection of the 
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses.
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    \4\ Public Law 104-13 (May 13, 1995).
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    The Commission has submitted this proposed Questionnaire and its 
associated information collection requirements to the Office of 
Management and Budget. The burden associated with this entire New 
Collection--3038-XXXX--including this proposed Questionnaire, is as 
follows:

Average burden hours per response: one hour/question
Number of questions: 13
Number of respondents: 13
Frequency of response: Annually

    Persons wishing to comment on the estimated paperwork burden 
associated with this proposed Questionnaire should contact the Desk 
Officer, CFTC, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10202, NEOB, 
Washington, DC 20503, (202) 395-7340. Copies of the

[[Page 5578]]

information collection submission to OMB are available from the CFTC 
Clearance Officer, 1155 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20581, (202) 
418-5160.

    Dated: January 28, 2010.
David A. Stawick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-2238 Filed 2-2-10; 8:45 am]
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