[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28623-28625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13255]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice To Extend 
Collection 3038-0092; Customer Clearing Documentation and Timing of 
Acceptance for Clearing

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is announcing 
an opportunity for public comment on the extension of a collection of 
certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction

[[Page 28624]]

Act (``PRA''), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information and 
to allow 60 days for public comment. This notice solicits comments on 
the obligation to maintain records related to clearing documentation 
between the customer and the customer's clearing member.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 20, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OMB Control No. 3038-
0092, by any of the following methods:
     The Agency's Website, at http://comments.cftc.gov/. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments through the website.
     Mail: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the 
Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette 
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as Mail above.
    Please submit your comments using only one method.
    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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Hower, Special Counsel, 
Division of Clearing and Risk, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 
(202) 418-6703; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., 
Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or 
sponsor. ``Collection of Information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) 
and 5 CFR 1320.3 and includes agency requests or requirements that 
members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide 
information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day 
notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of 
information before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, the CFTC is publishing notice for the 
extension of the collection of information listed below. An agency may 
not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.
    Title: Customer Clearing Documentation and Timing of Acceptance for 
Clearing (OMB Control No. 3038-0092). This is a request for extension 
of a currently approved information collection.
    Abstract: Section 4d(c) of the CEA, as amended by the Dodd-Frank 
Act, directs the Commission to require futures commission merchants to 
implement conflict of interest procedures that address such issues the 
Commission determines to be appropriate. Similarly, section 4s(j)(5), 
as added by the Dodd-Frank Act, requires swap dealers and major swap 
participants to implement conflict of interest procedures that address 
such issues the Commission determines to be appropriate. Section 
4s(j)(5) also requires swap dealers and major swap participants to 
ensure that any persons providing clearing activities or making 
determinations as to accepting clearing customers are separated by 
appropriate informational partitions from persons whose involvement in 
pricing, trading, or clearing activities might bias their judgment or 
contravene the core principle of open access. Section 4s(j)(6) of the 
CEA prohibits a swap dealer and major swap participant from adopting 
any process or taking any action that results in any unreasonable 
restraint on trade or imposes any material anticompetitive burden on 
trading or clearing, unless necessary or appropriate to achieve the 
purposes of the Act. Section 2(h)(1)(B)(ii) of the CEA requires that 
derivatives clearing organization rules provide for the non-
discriminatory clearing of swaps executed bilaterally or through an 
unaffiliated designated contract market or swap execution facility.
    Pursuant to these provisions, the Commission promulgated Sec.  
1.71(d)(1) relating to FCMs and Sec.  23.605(d)(1) relating to swap 
dealers and major swap participants. These regulations would prohibit 
swap dealers and major swap participants from interfering or attempting 
to influence the decisions of affiliated FCMs with regard to the 
provision of clearing services and activities and would prohibit FCMs 
from permitting them to do so. Also, Sec.  23.607 prohibits a swap 
dealer and major swap participant from adopting any process or taking 
any action that results in any unreasonable restraint on trade or 
imposes any material anticompetitive burden on trading or clearing, 
unless necessary or appropriate to achieve the purposes of the Act. 
Additionally, Sec.  39.12(b)(3) requires that derivatives clearing 
organization rules provide for the non-discriminatory clearing of swaps 
executed bilaterally or through an unaffiliated designated contract 
market or swap execution facility. Sections 1.71(f) and 23.605(f) 
provide that records be maintained pursuant to Commission Regulation 
1.31.
    As discussed further below, the additional information collection 
burden arising from the proposed regulations primarily is restricted to 
the costs associated with the affected registrants' obligation to 
maintain records related to clearing documentation between the customer 
and the customer's clearing member.
    The information collection obligations imposed by the proposed 
regulations are necessary to implement certain provisions of the CEA, 
including ensuring that registrants exercise effective risk management 
and for the efficient operation of trading venues among SDs, MSPs, 
FCMs, and DCOs.
    With respect to the collection of information, the CFTC invites 
comments on:
     Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Commission, including whether the information will have a practical 
use;
     The accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
     Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of collection of 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.
    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, 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.\1\
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    \1\ 17 CFR 145.9.
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    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

[[Page 28625]]

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 Freedom of 
Information Act.
    Burden Statement: The Commission is revising its estimate of the 
burden for this collection, which include 101 Swap Dealers, Major Swap 
Participants, 65 Futures Commission Merchants and 16 Derivatives 
Clearing Organizations. The respondent burden for this collection is 
estimated to be as follows:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 182.
    Estimated Average Burden Hours per Respondent: 18.1 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3296 hours.
    Frequency of Collection: Daily, annually, or as needed.
    There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs 
associated with this collection.

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

    Dated: June 15, 2018.
Robert Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-13255 Filed 6-19-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6351-01-P