[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 143 (Thursday, July 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34932-34933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15857]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(``PRA''), this notice announces that the Information Collection 
Request (``ICR'') abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of 
Management and Budget (``OMB'') for review and comment. The ICR 
describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
costs and burden.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 28, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the burden estimated or any other aspect 
of the information collection, including suggestions for reducing the 
burden, may be submitted directly to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs (``OIRA'') in OMB, within 30 days of the notice's 
publication, by either of the following methods. Please identify the 
comments by OMB Control No. 3038-0075.
     By email addressed to: [email protected]; or
     By mail addressed to: Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503.
    A copy of all comments submitted to OIRA should be sent to the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'' or ``Commission'') by 
either of the following methods. The copies should refer to OMB Control 
No. 3038-0075.
     By submission through the Commission's Web site: http://comments.cftc.gov. Please follow the instructions for submitting 
comments through the Web site;
     By mail addressed to: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary 
of the Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three 
Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581; or
     By hand delivery/courier to: The address listed above for 
submission mail.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Scopino, Special Counsel, 202-
418-5175, email: [email protected], CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and 
Intermediary Oversight.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 34933]]

    Supporting statements. A copy of the supporting statements for the 
collection of information discussed herein may be obtained by visiting 
http://RegInfo.gov.
    Comment instructions. All comments must be submitted in English, or 
if not, accompanied by an English translation. Comments will be posted 
as received to http://www.cftc.gov. You should submit only information 
that you wish to make available publicly. If you wish the Commission to 
consider information that you believe is exempt from disclosure under 
the Freedom of Information Act (``FOIA''), a petition for confidential 
treatment of the exempt information may be submitted according to the 
procedures established in Sec.  145.9 of the Commission's regulations, 
17 CFR 145.9. The Commission reserves the right, but shall have no 
obligation, to review, pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse or remove any 
or all of your submission from http://www.cftc.gov that it may deem to 
be inappropriate for publication, such as obscene language. All 
submissions that have been redacted or removed that contain comments on 
the merits of the ICR will be retained in the public comment file and 
will be considered as required under the Administrative Procedure Act 
and other applicable laws, and may be accessible under the FOIA.
    Title: Protection of Collateral of Counterparties to Uncleared 
Swaps; Treatment of Securities in a Portfolio Margining Account in a 
Commodity Broker Bankruptcy (OMB Control No. 3038-0075). This is a 
request for an extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: On November 6, 2013, the Commission issued final rules 
implementing statutory provisions pursuant to Title VII of the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank 
Act'') and imposing requirements on swap dealers (``SD'') and major 
swap participants (``MSP'') with respect to the treatment of collateral 
posted by their counterparties to margin, guarantee, or secure 
uncleared swaps.\1\ Additionally, the final rule includes revisions to 
ensure that, for purposes of subchapter IV of chapter 7 of the 
Bankruptcy Code, securities held in a portfolio margining account that 
is a futures account or a Cleared Swaps Customer Account constitute 
``customer property''; and owners of such accounts constitute 
``customers.'' \2\ Section 4s(l) of the Commodity Exchange Act 
(``CEA'') sets forth certain requirements concerning the rights of 
counterparties of SDs and MSPs with respect to the segregation of 
money, securities, or other property used to margin, guarantee, or 
otherwise secure uncleared swaps. Section 23.701 of the Commission's 
regulations implements part of the new statutory requirements by 
specifying that certain information must be provided to counterparties 
about the terms and conditions of segregation, including price 
information, to the extent that the SD or MSP has such information, and 
the identity of one or more independent depositories for segregated 
collateral. Section 23.704 implements the requirements of CEA section 
4s(l)(4), which dictates that, in certain circumstances, an SD or MSP 
must report to the counterparty, on a quarterly basis, ``that the back 
office procedures of the swap dealer or major swap participant relating 
to margin and collateral requirements are in compliance with the 
agreement of the counterparties.''
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    \1\ 78 FR 66621 (Nov. 6, 2013).
    \2\ Id.
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    As discussed above, the rules establish reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements that are mandated by section 4s(l) of the CEA, which 
states that SDs and MSPs must notify their counterparties of the right 
to have their initial margin segregated and to maintain the 
confirmations and elections related to such notices as business 
records. The reporting and recordkeeping requirements are necessary to 
implement the objectives of section 4s(1). For example, the information 
received by uncleared swap counterparties pursuant to Sec.  23.701 of 
the Commission's regulations would alert counterparties to their 
statutory right, if they so choose, to have funds or property used as 
margin in uncleared swaps transactions with SDs and MSPs kept 
segregated from the property of the SD or MSP. Likewise, the 
information provided would further alert counterparties of the need to 
request such segregation if they wish to exercise this right. 
Similarly, the information received by uncleared swap counterparties 
pursuant to Sec.  23.704 would be used to confirm that the back office 
procedures followed by a SD or MSP with whom they are dealing comply 
with the agreement of the parties. On May 12, 2017, the Commission 
published in the Federal Register a notice of the proposed extension of 
this information collection and provided 60 days for public comment on 
the proposed extension. See 82 FR 22118 (May 12, 2017). The Commission 
received no relevant comments.
    Burden Statement: The Commission is revising its estimate of the 
burden for this collection to reflect the current number of registered 
SDs and MSPs. Accordingly, the respondent burden for this collection is 
estimated to be as follows:
    Number of Registrants: 102.
    Estimated Average Burden Hours per Registrant: 3406.
    Estimated Aggregate Burden Hours: 347,412.
    Frequency of Recordkeeping: As applicable.

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

    Dated: July 24, 2017.
Christopher J. Kirkpatrick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2017-15857 Filed 7-26-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6351-01-P