[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4975-4987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02639]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Financial Research

12 CFR Part 1610

RIN 1505-AC58


Ongoing Data Collection of Centrally Cleared Transactions in the 
U.S. Repurchase Agreement Market

AGENCY: Office of Financial Research, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Financial 
Research (the ``Office'' or the ``OFR'') is adopting final rules (the 
``Final Rules'') establishing a data collection covering centrally 
cleared transactions in the U.S. repurchase agreement (``repo'') 
market. This collection requires daily reporting to the Office by 
covered central counterparties (``CCPs''). The collected data will be 
used to support the work of the Financial Stability Oversight Council 
(the ``Council''), its member agencies, and the Office to identify and 
monitor risks to financial stability, and to support the calculation of 
certain reference rates.

DATES: 
    Effective date: This rule is effective April 22, 2019.
    Compliance dates: See the amendment to 12 CFR 1610.10(e).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Reed, Chief Counsel, OFR, 
(202) 927-8164; John Zitko, Senior Counsel, OFR, (202) 927-8372; or 
Matthew McCormick, Research Economist, OFR, (202) 927-8215.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The OFR is adopting the Final Rules to establish a data collection 
for centrally cleared transactions in the U.S. repo market. The Final 
Rules will require reporting by certain U.S. CCPs for repo transactions 
and will serve two primary purposes: (1) To enhance the ability of the 
Council, its member agencies, and the Office to identify and monitor 
risks to financial stability; and (2) to support the calculation of 
certain reference rates. Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 
Consumer Protection Act (the ``Dodd-Frank Act''), the Office is 
authorized to issue rules and regulations in order to collect and 
standardize data to support the Council in fulfilling its purposes and 
duties, such as identifying risks to U.S. financial stability. The 
Council recommended a permanent collection of repo data in its 2016 
annual report to Congress and, as required by law, the Office consulted 
with the Council on the schedule of collection in September 2016.\1\ 
The Council maintained this recommendation in its 2017 annual report, 
and the Office provided a public update to the Council on November 16, 
2017.\2\ The Final Rules will require reporting on centrally cleared 
repo transactions comprising approximately one-quarter of all U.S. repo 
market transactions. Together with data collected regarding 
approximately another one-quarter of the market by the Federal Reserve 
Bank of New York (the ``FRBNY'') pursuant to the supervisory authority 
of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the ``Federal 
Reserve Board''), the Final Rules mark an important step toward fully 
addressing the Council's recommendation. The expanded monitoring of the 
repo market made possible by the Final Rules will help fulfill the 
Council's purposes and duties because of the repo market's crucial role 
in providing short-term funding and performing other functions for U.S. 
markets, making it important for financial stability monitoring. The 
data will also support the calculation of the Secured Overnight Funding 
Rate (``SOFR''), which was selected by the Alternative Reference Rates 
Committee as its preferred alternative rate to the U.S. dollar London 
Interbank Offered Rate (``LIBOR''), as well as the Broad General 
Collateral Rate (``BGCR''), helping fulfill another Council 
recommendation on the creation of alternative reference rates.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Minutes of the Financial Stability Oversight Council 
(September 22, 2016), https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/council-meetings/Documents/September222016_minutes.pdf and 12 U.S.C. 
5344(b)(1)(B)(iii).
    \2\ See Financial Stability Oversight Council, meeting minutes 
(November 16, 2017), https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/council-meetings/Documents/November162017_minutes.pdf, and Office, 
OFR Update on Bilateral Repo Collection (November 22, 2017), https://www.financialresearch.gov/from-the-managementteam/2017/11/22/ofr-update-on-bilateral-repocollection/.
    \3\ See Financial Stability Oversight Council, 2014 Annual 
Report, p. 10; 2015 Annual Report, p. 17; 2016 Annual Report, pp. 
14-15; and 2017 Annual Report, pp. 12-13, https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/studies-reports/Pages/2017-Annual-Report.aspx.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 4976]]

    The Office published a notice of proposed rulemaking on July 10, 
2018 (the ``NPRM'' or the ``Proposed Rules''), and requested that any 
comments be submitted by September 10, 2018.\4\ The Office received 
relevant comments on the NPRM from a clearing organization, a trade 
association, an asset manager, a standards advisory group, and a 
nonprofit foundation.\5\ In general, all commenters supported the 
proposed data collection, noting such potential benefits as monitoring 
risks to financial stability and supporting the calculation of an 
alternative reference rate to LIBOR. In addition, commenters identified 
certain issues that the Office has addressed in the discussion below 
and, in some cases, through regulatory text changes reflected in the 
Final Rules. In making these changes, the Office intends to minimize 
the burden of the Final Rules while still assuring that the aims of the 
collection, as expressed in the NPRM and below, are met.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ 83 FR 31896 (July 10, 2018).
    \5\ In total, the OFR received five substantive comments on the 
Proposed Rules, including letters from the Depository Trust & 
Clearing Corporation (``DTCC''), the Securities Industry and 
Financial Markets Association (``SIFMA''), Citadel L.L.C., The 
Standards Advisory Group of the International Organization for 
Standardization's (``ISO'') Technical Committee 68 for Financial 
Services (``ISO/TC 68''), and the Global Legal Entity Identifier 
(``LEI'') Foundation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. Description of Final Rules

    The following discussion summarizes the NPRM, the comments 
received, and the Office's response to those comments, including 
modifications reflected in the Final Rules.

a. Purpose of Rules

    As noted in the NPRM, the collection of data pursuant to the Final 
Rules has two primary purposes, both of which support the Council, its 
member agencies, and the Office in carrying out their responsibilities. 
First, the data will be used to identify and monitor financial 
stability risks in a significant portion of the U.S. repo market. 
Second, the data will be used to support the calculation of reference 
rates, including the SOFR. Both of these aims received strong support 
in the comment letters. Public commenters endorsed the enhancement of 
information on the U.S. repo market that is to be accomplished through 
the collection, and they also noted such data would strengthen the 
calculation method and resiliency of the collection mechanism for the 
SOFR.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See, e.g., SIFMA letter, pp. 1-2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

i. Importance of Centrally Cleared Repurchase Agreement Data for 
Monitoring Financial Stability Risks
    The collection of data on the centrally cleared segments of the 
repo market marks an important step in fulfilling the Council's 
recommendation to expand and make permanent the collection of data on 
the U.S. repo market. The Council recommended a permanent collection of 
repo data in its 2016 annual report to improve transparency and risk 
monitoring, which was reiterated in its 2017 annual report.\7\ The 
Office believes that the adopted approach of collecting certain cleared 
repo data from CCPs, which already obtain most or all of the requested 
data during trade processing, will result in lower aggregate costs to 
market participants than a collection from individual participants. As 
explained below, the Office believes that there is only one reporter 
currently covered by the Final Rules' scope: Fixed Income Clearing 
Corporation (``FICC''), a subsidiary of DTCC. FICC has indicated that 
on average, it matches, nets, settles, and risk-manages centrally 
cleared repo transactions valued at more than $1.7 trillion per day.\8\ 
The collection is expected to result initially in reporting only from 
two FICC services: The General Collateral Finance Repo Service (``GCF 
Repo Service'') (a service that clears general collateral trades, in 
which the trade reported to the CCP is for a category of securities as 
opposed to a specific security), including FICC's Centrally Cleared 
Institutional Triparty Service; and the Delivery-Versus-Payment Service 
(``DVP Service'') (a specific-security repo service). This collection, 
together with existing data collections covering the tri-party repo 
market, will allow about half of the estimated activity in the U.S. 
repo market by volume to be analyzed and monitored.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ See Financial Stability Oversight Council, 2017 Annual 
Report, p. 14, https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/studies-reports/Documents/FSOC_2017_Annual_Report.pdf and 2016 Annual 
Report, p. 14, https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/studies-reports/Documents/FSOC%202016%20Annual%20Report.pdf.
    \8\ See Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, DVP Repo 
Transactions, undated online content, https://www.dtcclearning.com/products-and-services/fixed-income-clearing/government-securities-division-gsd/dvp-service/dvp-repo-transactions.html.
    \9\ See Baklanova, Caglio, Cipriani, and Copeland (January 13, 
2016), using a method first outlined in Copeland, et al., ``Lifting 
the Veil on the U.S. Bilateral Repo Market,'' Liberty Street 
Economics: http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2014/07/lifting-the-veil-on-the-us-bilateral-repo-market.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The collection of transactional data on centrally cleared repos is 
key to the Council's effective identification and monitoring of 
emerging threats to the stability of the U.S. financial system. The 
repo market has a number of critical functions with associated 
vulnerabilities that could give rise to conditions that could impair 
its ability to perform such functions.\10\ These functions also create 
linkages between different financial markets and institutions, and 
therefore potential channels for the propagation of shocks through the 
wider financial system. These vulnerabilities have developed in the 
past into threats to U.S. financial stability, most notably during the 
2007-09 financial crisis.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ There are four functions that repo transactions can serve 
for individual participants: Low-risk cash investment, monetization 
of assets, transformation of collateral, and facilitation of 
hedging. Repos also benefit financial markets broadly by supporting 
secondary market efficiency and liquidity.
    \11\ During the financial crisis, the repo market first began to 
show stress in the summer of 2007, and runs on repos played a 
central role in the failures of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. 
These threats can manifest quickly; the run on Bear Stearns took 
place over less than a week. See Financial Crisis Inquiry 
Commission, ``Conclusions of the Financial Crisis Inquiry 
Commission'' (January 2011), pp. 286-290.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Despite the vulnerabilities, only tri-party repo transactions are 
currently subject to a mandatory regulatory data collection. Data gaps 
and the absence of mandatory collections are a significant impediment 
to the ongoing ability of the market, the Council, Council member 
agencies, and the Office to monitor developments in the repo market and 
potential emerging threats to financial stability. The lack of 
comprehensive data on repos creates material blind spots with regard to 
the most active short-term funding market in the U.S. financial system. 
This mandatory collection is an important step in eliminating these 
blind spots.
    From a financial stability perspective, it is important to monitor 
transactions in centrally cleared repo for three reasons. First, repos 
that are transacted through a CCP on a blind-brokered basis can act as 
a critical funding source for repo borrowers that are under stress. 
Uncleared repos backed by high-quality collateral can become sensitive 
to counterparty risk, potentially resulting in a run on an 
institution's funding.\12\ Shifts in activity from specific-
counterparty repos to blind-brokered transactions can therefore 
indicate market perceptions that a firm may be under stress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ See Adam Copeland, Antoine Martin, and Martin Walker, 
``Repo Runs: Evidence from the Tri-Party Repo Market'' (2011), 
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Second, while counterparty risk is mitigated by the use of CCPs, 
adverse changes in the value of collateral can

[[Page 4977]]

propagate shocks arising elsewhere in the financial system to CCP 
members by impacting their ability to borrow using centrally cleared 
repo.\13\ Further, collateral held at tri-party custodian banks that is 
used in centrally cleared repos within the tri-party system is not 
available for delivery outside of the tri-party system, making 
information on the collateral used in this venue important for 
understanding broader market dynamics.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ The linkages between asset and funding markets create a 
risk of spillovers from one market to another because asset values 
help determine both the value of an asset as collateral and also the 
availability of funding for leveraged market participants that hold 
the asset. Price impacts on collateral arising forced asset sales 
due to a lack of confidence in such assets or in a particular 
counterparty can have widespread effects beyond the original 
transactions, leading to contagion that can culminate in broader 
fire sales and potential threats to financial stability. Further, 
the use of common underlying assets between different segments of 
the repo market therefore creates a channel through which centrally 
cleared repo transactions can be affected by activity in other 
portions of the repo market.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Third, while CCPs offer benefits in terms of settlement and risk 
management, they may also propagate shocks to their members in other 
ways. If a repo CCP were to fail during a period of market stress, the 
repo intermediation capacity of the financial system would be impaired. 
Even if this risk were judged to be remote, in a circumstance where, as 
here, there is significant market centralization, disruption of such a 
critical service could have severe implications. For these reasons, and 
as noted by the Council in its 2017 annual report, further monitoring 
and analysis of risks related to CCPs is appropriate.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ See Financial Stability Oversight Council, 2017 Annual 
Report, pp. 123-4, https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/studies-reports/Documents/FSOC_2017_Annual_Report.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ii. Importance of Centrally Cleared Repurchase Agreement Data to 
Alternative Reference Rates
    This collection is expected to support the calculation of reference 
rates including the SOFR, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee's 
preferred alternative reference rate to U.S. dollar LIBOR. The SOFR 
relies on data on repos backed by Treasury securities in three segments 
of the U.S. repo market. The Federal Reserve Board collects data for 
the tri-party portion through its supervisory authority over the 
clearing banks. While some data on GCF Repo Service and DVP Service 
transactions are available to the FRBNY through a voluntary agreement 
with an affiliate of FICC, DTCC Solutions LLC (``DTCC Solutions''), an 
expanded and ongoing mandatory collection of these data will increase 
confidence that the alternative reference rate's inputs will continue 
to be available. This is especially true if new CCPs enter the market. 
This viability is important because the long-term success of any 
alternative reference rate relies on the confidence of market 
participants.
    Another benefit of this collection is the ability to require 
specific data fields from centrally cleared general collateral repo and 
centrally cleared specific-security repo services for use in reference 
rate calculation. The Office has reviewed these data fields with the 
FRBNY and believes the information will help to improve and ensure the 
ongoing quality of the SOFR and BGCR. From an early stage, the Office 
has contributed to the development of alternative reference rates and 
has designed this collection to maximize its compatibility with 
reference rate production. Some of the data fields in this collection 
are not currently received under the voluntary agreement between the 
FRBNY and DTCC Solutions, but will help ensure the continued quality of 
the rates. Most notably, the identity of transaction counterparties is 
important for rate calculation, as it allows the calculation agent to 
identify and, as appropriate, exclude transactions that may not be 
representative of market activity (e.g., certain affiliate 
transactions). Further, by making available data on repos that are 
outside the current scope of the voluntary data collection, this 
collection will allow the Federal Reserve and the Office to better 
monitor the evolution of markets and ensure that the rates continue to 
target their intended underlying interests.
    Finally, the collection will help ensure the long-term viability of 
the SOFR and BGCR by including within its scope reporting from any 
additional CCPs that meet the $50 billion activity-based materiality 
threshold in the future, regardless of their supervisor or regulator. 
This ensures rate production will include new comparable transactions 
in the calculation of the rate as U.S. repo markets evolve. This is of 
particular importance given that trading in products tied to the new 
rate might eventually subsume most volume that is currently tied to 
U.S. dollar LIBOR.

b. Uses of the Data Collection

    The collection will be used by the Office to improve the ability of 
the Council, Council member agencies, and the Office to monitor the 
U.S. repo market and identify and assess potential financial stability 
risks. The additional daily transaction data this collection will 
facilitate identification of potential repo market vulnerabilities and 
will also help identify shifting repo market trends that could be 
destabilizing or indicate stresses elsewhere in the financial system. 
Such trends might be reflected in indicators of the volume or price of 
funding in the repo market at different tenors, differentiated by the 
type or credit quality of participants or the quality of underlying 
collateral. Further, analyzing the collateral data from this collection 
together with other data available to the Office, the Council, and 
Council member agencies will enable a clearer understanding of 
collateral flows in securities markets and potential financial 
stability risks.
    As noted in the NPRM and consistent with the Dodd-Frank Act, the 
Office expects to share collected data and information with the Council 
and its member agencies, and such data and information must be 
maintained with at least the same level of security as used by the 
Office and may not be shared with any individual or entity without the 
permission of the Council.\15\ On October 16, 2018, the Council voted 
unanimously to authorize the OFR to share with the FRBNY the data the 
OFR will collect under the Final Rules.\16\ Accordingly, the Office 
will make available the data from this collection to the FRBNY for 
purposes of meeting the above monitoring and alternative reference rate 
objectives as well as other market analysis and research. The Office 
will also make data collected and maintained under this collection 
available to the Council and Council member agencies, as necessary to 
support their regulatory responsibilities.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ 12 U.S.C. 5343(b).
    \16\ See FSOC, Minutes of the Financial Stability Council dated 
October 16, 2018, https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/council-meetings/Documents/October162018_minutes.pdf.
    \17\ 12 U.S.C. 5344(b)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The sharing of any data from this collection will be subject to the 
confidentiality and security requirements of applicable laws, including 
the Dodd-Frank Act.\18\ Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the submission 
of any non-publicly available data to the Office under this collection 
will not constitute a waiver of, or otherwise affect, any privilege 
arising under federal or state law to which the data or information is 
otherwise subject.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ E.g., 12 U.S.C. 5343(b), 5344(b)(3).
    \19\ 12 U.S.C. 5322(d)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Aggregate or summary data from the collection might be provided to 
the public to increase market transparency and facilitate research on 
the financial

[[Page 4978]]

system, to the extent that intellectual property rights are not 
violated, confidential business information is properly protected, and 
the sharing of such information poses no significant threats to the 
U.S. financial system.\20\ The potential sharing of aggregate or 
summary data collected under the Final Rules would help fulfill a 
recommendation of the Council to make appropriately aggregated 
securities financing data available to the public.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ 12 U.S.C. 5344(b)(6).
    \21\ See Financial Stability Oversight Council, Council's 2017 
Annual Report, p. 16, https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/studies-reports/Documents/FSOC%202016%20Annual%20Report.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Office may also use the data to sponsor and conduct additional 
research.\22\ This research may include the use of these data to help 
fulfill the duties and purposes under the Dodd-Frank Act relating to 
the responsibility of the Office's Research and Analysis Center to 
develop and maintain independent analytical capabilities to support the 
Council and relating to the programmatic functions of the Office's Data 
Center.\23\ For example, access to data on centrally cleared repos will 
allow the Office to conduct research related to the Council's analysis 
of potential risks arising from securities financing activities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ 12 U.S.C. 5343(b)(2).
    \23\ 12 U.S.C. 5344(b) discusses the Office's Data Center, and 
12 U.S.C. 5344(c) discusses the various uses of data by the Office's 
Research and Analysis Center to support the Council.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Two commenters requested that the Office provide more clarity 
regarding information security. One focused on the standard of care and 
the particular measures the Office will take to secure and protect the 
data collected in order to provide greater transparency and enable a 
constructive dialogue regarding the adequacy of such measures in the 
face of future technological developments.\24\ The other stated its 
concern in light of the number of agencies and individuals within such 
agencies that may have access to the data.\25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ DTCC letter, pp. 2-3.
    \25\ SIFMA letter, p. 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As noted above, the Office will, consistent with the Dodd-Frank 
Act, share data and information with the Council and its member 
agencies. As required by the Dodd-Frank Act, such data and information 
must be maintained with at least the same level of security as used by 
the Office and may not be shared with any individual or entity other 
than those specified in 12 U.S.C. 5343(b) without the permission of the 
Council.\26\ For purposes of preventing unauthorized access to data, or 
loss of data, the Office is also subject to the Federal Information 
Security Modernization Act of 2014,\27\ which requires that federal 
agencies, including the OFR and independent regulatory agencies, 
provide information security protections commensurate with the risk and 
magnitude of harm resulting from unauthorized access, use, or 
disclosure of information collected by or on behalf of an agency.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \26\ 12 U.S.C. 5343(b).
    \27\ Public Law 113-283.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Additionally, U.S. federal employees are subject to government-wide 
regulations that prohibit the use of public office for private gain and 
impose other restrictions related to the use of nonpublic 
information.\28\ Unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets and insider 
trading can result in criminal prosecution.\29\ The information 
collected pursuant to the Final Rules will be handled in accordance 
with the OFR's data access, security, and control policies and 
procedures, and the Office will further comply with all applicable 
privacy and data protection laws and regulations that are now or that 
may in the future become applicable to it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \28\ See 5 CFR 2635.702 (use of public office for private gain), 
5 CFR 2635.703 (use of nonpublic information), and 18 U.S.C. 1905 
(disclosure of confidential information generally).
    \29\ See 18 U.S.C. 1832 (theft of trade secrets) and 15 U.S.C. 
78j (manipulative and deceptive devices).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One commenter requested that specific data-handling procedures be 
delineated, depending on whether the data was to be used for risk 
monitoring and supervision, or academic research. This commenter 
suggested that certain enhanced protections could include anonymization 
or embargo of the data when it is to be used for academic research. It 
also recommended that the Office amend the Proposed Rules to set forth 
a standard with respect to the publication of any information that 
includes or is derived from the data to be collected, including in 
aggregate or summary form, that would prevent the disclosure of 
proprietary or confidential financial, operational, or trading data. In 
connection with such a standard, the commenter also suggested that the 
Office clarify a process by which a covered reporter (as defined in the 
regulation) would be permitted to review research prior to publication 
in order to confirm that the research does not reveal confidential 
information.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \30\ DTCC letter, pp. 3-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Upon consideration, the Office declines to delineate between 
different data handling procedures in this manner. In light of the fact 
that the same personnel who take part in risk monitoring and 
supervision often additionally engage in academic research, with cross-
functional benefits to each, the Office considers a demarcation between 
the two to be unworkable. Moreover, as noted above, 12 U.S.C. 
5344(b)(6) provides that the Office shall, after consultation with 
Council member agencies, provide certain data to financial industry 
participants and the general public to increase market transparency and 
facilitate research on the financial system, to the extent that 
intellectual property rights are not violated, confidential business 
information is properly protected, and the sharing of such information 
poses no significant threats to the financial system of the United 
States.
    Furthermore, the Office employs a number of targeted mechanisms to 
protect confidential business information. With respect to the data to 
be collected pursuant to the Final Rules, such mechanisms may include, 
at the discretion of the Office, providing data in an anonymized 
format; providing data on an embargoed basis; performing statistical 
analysis to verify that confidential business information cannot be 
reverse-engineered; and allowing covered reporters to review research 
prior to publication for purposes of confirming that such research does 
not reveal the confidential information of their members.
    The same commenter recommended that the Office consider clarifying 
in the regulatory text how a Freedom of Information Act (``FOIA'') \31\ 
request for confidential business information collected pursuant to a 
final rule would be treated, including the process for requesting 
confidential treatment of data submitted on a continuous basis via an 
automated process and by expressly identifying the exemptions that 
would be applicable to such data.\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \31\ 5 U.S.C. 552.
    \32\ DTCC letter, p. 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In general, the FOIA provides for access to records maintained by a 
Federal agency. The provisions of the FOIA are intended to assure the 
right of the public to information, subject to the exemptions and 
exclusions set forth in the FOIA. The disclosure requirements of 5 
U.S.C. 552(a) do not apply to records that are exempt under 5 U.S.C. 
552(b), or to records that are excluded under 5 U.S.C. 552(c).
    As an office within the Department of the Treasury, the Office 
considers the data to be collected pursuant to the Final Rules as 
records maintained by the Department of the Treasury pursuant to its 
FOIA regulations.\33\

[[Page 4979]]

Upon receipt of a request for Treasury records, those records must be 
disclosed unless they are exempt or excluded under the FOIA. The Office 
expects that data collected under the Final Rules will likely contain 
or consist of ``trade secrets and commercial or financial information 
obtained from a person and privileged or confidential.'' This type of 
information is subject to withholding under exemption 4 of the 
FOIA.\34\ To the extent that data collected under the Final Rules 
contains or consists of data or information not subject to an 
applicable FOIA exemption, that data or information would be releasable 
under the FOIA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \33\ See 31 CFR part 1, subpart A.
    \34\ 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

c. Collection Design

i. Scope of Application
    The Final Rules establish the scope of entities subject to the 
Final Rules. The Final Rules require reporting by any CCP whose average 
daily total open commitments in repos across all services over all 
business days during the prior calendar quarter is at least $50 
billion. ``Open commitments'' is defined as the CCP's gross cash 
positions, prior to netting. Further, ``CCP'' is defined as a clearing 
agency that interposes itself between the counterparties to 
transactions, acting functionally as the buyer to every seller and the 
seller to every buyer. Finally, consistent with the NPRM, ``clearing 
agency'' is defined by reference to the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934, as amended, which defines this term as ``any person who acts as 
an intermediary in making payments or deliveries or both in connection 
with transactions in securities or who provides facilities for 
comparison of data respecting the terms of settlement of securities 
transactions, to reduce the number of settlements of securities 
transactions, or for the allocation of securities settlement 
responsibilities.'' \35\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \35\ 15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(23).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NPRM proposed that a CCP that becomes a covered reporter after 
the effective date of the Final Rules would be required to begin 
reporting on the first business day of the third calendar quarter after 
the calendar quarter in which the CCP meets the $50 billion activity-
based materiality threshold. For example, if a CCP were to surpass the 
threshold beginning with the quarter ending on March 31 of a given 
year, that CCP would become subject to the reporting requirements of 
the Final Rules on the first business day of the calendar quarter that 
begins after two intervening calendar quarters--in this case, October 
1. Conversely, the NPRM provided that a covered reporter whose volume 
falls below the $50 billion threshold for at least four consecutive 
calendar quarters would have its reporting obligations cease. For 
example, if a covered reporter ceases to meet the $50 billion threshold 
beginning with the quarter ending June 30 of a given year, and remains 
below the $50 billion threshold in each of the following three quarters 
(in this example, through the quarter ending March 31 of the following 
year), its reporting obligations would cease as of April 1.
    As stated in the NPRM, the Office established a $50 billion volume 
threshold for determining whether a CCP is a covered reporter, and 
therefore required to report, with the objective of collecting data 
only from CCPs with sufficient transaction volume to be considered 
material CCPs in the repo market. Specifically noting that the proposed 
definition of covered reporter sought to include only current or future 
material repo CCPs within the scope of the Final Rules, the Office 
requested comment on whether the proposed definition met the objective 
and whether the $50 billion activity-based volume threshold for 
identifying covered reporters was clear and appropriate for ensuring 
the inclusion only of current or future material repo CCPs.
    One commenter stated that the NPRM's focus on CCPs meeting the $50 
billion threshold was appropriate (while noting that FICC was the only 
currently expected covered reporter), as such collection would ``gather 
information from the largest and most systemically important 
participants in the repo market.'' \36\ Another commenter, however, 
though not directly addressing the questions posed relating to 
materiality, suggested that the benefits to be gained from a collection 
of centrally cleared repo transactions were dependent not on the 
potential size of a covered reporter but, rather, on the collection of 
comprehensive data on repos. In support of increased transparency, the 
commenter suggested that the proposed materiality threshold would 
create a blind spot, and it encouraged the Office to remove it ``so 
that all central counterparties that clear repos must submit the 
required repo data to the Office.'' \37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \36\ SIFMA letter, p. 2.
    \37\ DTCC letter, p. 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Office has considered the comments received and declines to 
change the activity-based volume threshold for identifying covered 
reporters. The $50 billion threshold serves to ensure that the 
collection does not apply to CCPs that are not material participants in 
relevant markets. The minimal additional market transparency that would 
be provided by collecting centrally cleared repo data from CCPs that do 
not meet the $50 billion threshold would not justify the burdens such a 
collection would impose on smaller market participants.
    As stated in the NPRM, the Office understands that the full scope 
of transaction information on the centrally cleared repo market, which 
is required to fulfill the stated purposes of the collection, has not 
been available to the Council or Council member agencies, including the 
primary financial regulatory agency for clearing agencies. The Office 
believes that the lack of comprehensive data on repos has already 
created material blind spots with regard to the most active short-term 
funding market in the U.S. financial system, and that this collection 
will contribute significantly to eliminating these blind spots. The 
Final Rules require reporting on a market that comprises approximately 
one-quarter of all U.S. repo market transactions and, when combined 
with information collected about other types of repos by regulators, 
will enable access to transaction data on approximately half of U.S. 
repo market activity. The collection of data on the centrally cleared 
segments of the repo market also marks an important step in carrying 
out the Council's recommendation to expand and make permanent the 
collection of data on the U.S. repo market.
    In executing both of these aims, however, the Office believes it 
reasonable to focus on those entities considered to be material in the 
relevant market, and it is mindful that establishing a lower threshold, 
or none at all, could place an inordinate burden on smaller entities. 
If the OFR finds in the future that a significant blind spot is created 
by a firm that remains just below the $50 billion threshold, it can 
consider expanding the collection of centrally cleared repo data at 
that time.
    The same commenter that requested removing the $50 billion 
activities-based materiality threshold also suggested that tri-party 
custodian banks should be subject to the reporting requirements covered 
by the NPRM. As noted in the NPRM, certain custodian banks are already 
required to report certain tri-party repo data to the Federal Reserve 
Board, through the FRBNY, pursuant to its supervisory authority. The 
commenter stated that, even though ``it appears clear that the tri-
party custodian banks provide the data the

[[Page 4980]]

FRBNY needs to calculate the SOFR on a mandatory basis,'' \38\ 
incomplete or asymmetrical data sets could arise and affect the 
Council's and the Office's ability to identify and monitor risks to 
financial stability because it is not clear to what degree the scope 
and format of the tri-party custodian collection is identical to the 
collection proposed by the NPRM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \38\ DTCC letter, p. 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Upon consideration of this comment and after consultation with the 
Federal Reserve, the Office does not seek to include tri-party 
custodian banks within the definition of covered reporter in the Final 
Rules. Setting aside any potential impact that inclusion of custodian 
banks within the Final Rules could present on the already-existing 
collection pursuant to the Federal Reserve Board's supervisory 
authority, which is different than the Office's authority to collect 
data, the Office seeks to mitigate the reporting burden placed on 
financial companies. The Office is familiar with the data made 
available by the custodian banks, having used it for financial 
stability research, and believes that the relevant data elements are 
sufficiently aligned between the supervisory data and the data to be 
collected under the Final Rules to meet the monitoring and analysis 
needs of the Office.
    The same commenter suggested that clarifying the definition of 
``financial company'' and the scope of the Proposed Rules was necessary 
in order for a covered reporter to report data in a manner that 
complies with the Office's authority. Certain provisions of the Dodd-
Frank Act authorize the Office to collect data from financial 
companies.\39\ The commenter stated that, because the Office did not 
specifically limit the Proposed Rules' scope to the collection of data 
on repo activity of financial companies, it recommended amending the 
Proposed Rules to describe the process by which the Office would 
determine and identify to a covered reporter which of its members are 
deemed to be financial companies, so that a covered reporter could 
report the data for such entities.\40\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \39\ See, e.g., 12 U.S.C. 5344(b)(1)(B).
    \40\ DTCC letter, p. 9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While repo activity is not necessarily limited to financial 
companies as defined in the Dodd-Frank Act, the Final Rules require 
reporting only by CCPs that are clearing agencies and that perform the 
central clearing function for repo transactions at or above the 
activities-based volume threshold. Moreover, the preamble of the NPRM 
noted that the definition of ``financial company'' \41\ has the same 
meaning as in Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act and discussed why the 
Office believes the one expected covered reporter appears to meet such 
definition.\42\ The Office also noted that we would expect future 
covered reporters to meet the financial company definition because they 
would be expected to be incorporated or organized under federal or 
state law and to be companies that are ``predominantly engaged'' in 
activities that the Federal Reserve Board has determined are financial 
in nature or incidental thereto for purposes of section 4(k) of the 
Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 \43\ (or a subsidiary thereof).\44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ 12 U.S.C. 5341(2).
    \42\ See 83 FR 31896 at 31903-04.
    \43\ 12 U.S.C. 1843(k).
    \44\ A ``financial company'' also includes a bank holding 
company or a nonbank financial company supervised by the Federal 
Reserve Board. 12 U.S.C. 5381(a)(11).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NPRM described the importance of centrally cleared repo data 
from CCPs for monitoring financial stability risks and the calculating 
reference rates.\45\ Accordingly, because the Proposed Rules' reporting 
requirements were directed at CCPs within the Office's data-collection 
authority and provided reasons for the importance of gathering 
transaction information from such entities, the Office declines to 
amend the Proposed Rules in the manner requested.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \45\ See 83 FR 31896, 31901-02.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ii. Information Required
A. Legal Entity Identifier
    Unchanged from the Proposed Rules, the Final Rules require a 
covered reporter to submit the Legal Entity Identifier (the ``LEI'') of 
each covered reporter, direct clearing member, counterparty, and broker 
involved in a repo transaction. The NPRM noted the submission of LEIs 
would enhance the ability of the Council, Council member agencies, and 
the Office to identify potential risks to U.S. financial stability by 
facilitating an understanding of repo market participants' exposures, 
concentrations, and network structures. Precise identification of 
transaction counterparties is also important for rate calculation, as 
it allows the calculation agent to identify and, as appropriate, 
exclude transactions that may not be representative of market activity 
(e.g., certain affiliate transactions). Under the Final Rules, the LEI 
reported must satisfy the standards implemented by the Global LEI 
Foundation. The proposed inclusion of the LEI as a mandatory data field 
for such purposes and according to the defined standards was widely 
supported and received no negative public comments.
    However, one commenter (the only currently expected covered 
reporter) recommended a phased implementation process in order to allow 
a covered reporter sufficient time to take necessary measures to avoid 
compromising the integrity of the data covered by the proposed 
collection. This commenter recommended that the data elements requiring 
an LEI should be reported within 420 days after the effective date of 
the Final Rules. It suggested in part that a phase-in process was 
necessary to allow a covered reporter sufficient time to provide for 
any required rule filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(the ``SEC'') that might be necessary to require market participants to 
obtain LEIs and then provide them to the covered reporter. The same 
commenter stated, however, that, while it did not anticipate being able 
to provide LEI information on the same schedule as the other data 
elements, it would ``work with the Office to provide sufficiently 
detailed identifying information (such as the alpha descriptor of the 
relevant market participants together with additional identifying 
information) . . . until LEI information is added to the relevant 
reports.'' \46\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \46\ DTCC letter, pp. 6-7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Office has considered this comment. The Office expects that 
covered reporters will take all feasible and appropriate steps to 
require that their platform participants obtain LEIs so that the 
covered reporters are in compliance with the LEI requirements of the 
Final Rules. As discussed in section II.c.iii.b below, the Final Rules 
adopt the commenter's requested phase-in period for data elements 
requiring an LEI; if a covered reporter is able to effect a rulemaking 
requiring each direct clearing member, counterparty, and broker 
associated with a repo transaction to obtain an LEI and provide it to 
that covered reporter, the covered reporter is required to begin 
reporting those LEIs within 420 days after the effective date of the 
Final Rules. In addition, in order to retain the benefits that entity 
identification provides for enhancing risk monitoring and reference 
rate creation, the Office has added basic entity identifier information 
for those fields applicable to each direct clearing member, 
counterparty, and broker involved in a repo transaction. The fields 
added will require reporting of each such entity's legal name and the 
internal identifier assigned to it by the covered reporter, which the 
Office

[[Page 4981]]

understands to be readily available to the only currently expected 
covered reporter. To support an orderly transition for monitoring and 
rate calculation, these additional fields will be required to be 
reported either: (1) Until 365 days after the deadline for the covered 
reporter to begin reporting LEIs, if the covered reporter is able to 
effect a rulemaking requiring market participants to obtain LEIs and 
provide them to the covered reporter; or, (2) indefinitely, if a 
covered reporter is unable to effect such a rulemaking.
    The NPRM requested comment on the manner by which the LEI should be 
included in the specific data fields for which it was required. Stating 
that it had no preference between the two options presented, the Office 
asked whether it would be preferable to include LEIs in messages 
regarding transactions, or to add LEIs of reporting entities and 
counterparties after the transactions take place but prior to 
submission of data to the Office.\47\ Two comments were received on 
this issue, and both supported the position that LEIs should be added 
after the transactions take place, prior to submission of data to the 
Office. One commenter stated its belief that this option was preferable 
because it would require fewer parties to update their systems and that 
the centralization of the LEI reporting function would be not only more 
efficient but less complicated to implement by requiring fewer 
technology build-outs across the industry.\48\ The other commenter 
recommended that the Office leave the methodology and timing of the 
collection and addition of LEIs to the discretion of the covered 
reporter because it believed such an approach would provide the 
necessary flexibility to the industry in both meeting the short-term 
challenges of implementing the changes to existing reporting and 
messaging systems, as well as allowing for evolution of services 
between covered reporters and their clients.\49\ Because both comments 
favored allowing covered reporters to add LEIs of reporting entities 
and counterparties after the transactions take place but prior to 
submission of data to the Office, the Final Rules give covered 
reporters discretion and do not specify the manner by which the covered 
reporter will receive these LEIs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \47\ See 83 FR 31896, 31906.
    \48\ SIFMA letter, p. 4.
    \49\ DTCC letter, p. 6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One commenter recommended that the Final Rules include an explicit 
requirement that relevant market participants obtain and maintain LEIs 
in order to ensure that the requested data could be properly reported, 
pointing out that a covered reporter could not report LEI data for a 
market participant if such market participant has not obtained an LEI 
and supplied it to the covered reporter. Alternatively, the commenter 
maintained, the Final Rules should clarify that an LEI would only need 
be reported if and when available.\50\ In another section of its 
letter, however, the same commenter recognized that a covered reporter 
could require its own members or market participants to provide LEIs 
through a rule filing with the SEC and noted the need to allow for 
evolution in services between covered reporters and their clients.\51\ 
The Office believes that imposing the LEI requirement on covered 
reporters, rather than directly on a broader group of market 
participants, is a targeted approach that will better avoid undue 
burdens on market participants and ensure compliance with the scope of 
OFR's statutory data-collection authority.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \50\ DTCC letter, pp. 5-6.
    \51\ DTCC letter, p. 7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As noted above, the Final Rules require reporting only from CCPs 
that meet the definition of ``financial company.'' They are not 
directed at non-financial companies or CCPs executing transactions 
below the $50 billion activity-based materiality threshold.
    The NPRM discussed the importance of identifying the entities 
involved in repo transactions subject to the Final Rules to monitoring 
financial stability risks and calculating reference rates. For example, 
with respect to analysis of potential risks to U.S. financial 
stability, mandatory LEI reporting will benefit firms and regulators by 
improving the ability to combine repo information with other 
information, such as derivatives and other qualified financial 
contracts, to monitor financial firms and markets. For creation of 
reference rates, the LEIs of the various entities required under the 
Final Rules will facilitate evaluation of repo transactions and whether 
a repo transaction was conducted on an arm's-length basis or between 
affiliates.
    The NPRM also stated the Office's belief that, while requiring the 
LEI may result in some additional compliance costs, doing so is 
reasonable and appropriate due to the added clarity and substantial 
benefit it provides for risk monitoring and rate production. Another 
commenter noted its belief that the relative sophistication of repo 
market participants, along with the requirements imposed by U.S. and 
foreign regulators (such as the recent Markets in Financial Instruments 
Directive 2 transaction reporting requirements), make it unlikely that 
obtaining and maintaining an LEI would be a burden for such 
participants. It agreed with the views expressed by the Office in the 
NPRM that the marginal burden of the obligation for some repo market 
participants to obtain and maintain an LEI is outweighed by the benefit 
associated with the collection under the Final Rules.\52\ Moreover, as 
noted above, the Office is adopting the only currently expected covered 
reporter's requested LEI implementation timeline of 420 days \53\ after 
the effective date of the Final Rules and believes that this timeframe 
will be sufficient to adopt any member rule changes necessary to 
effectuate the Final Rules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \52\ SIFMA letter, p. 3.
    \53\ DTCC letter, p. 7. We note that this commenter also 
suggested that delays may occur. We believe such delays to be 
speculative, rather than concrete time constraints.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Office has considered the commenter's recommendation to 
directly require the relevant market participants to obtain and 
maintain LEIs and, for the reasons stated above, believes the better 
approach is to place requirements on covered reporters that meet the 
definition of ``financial companies.''
B. Price of Collateral/Security
    One commenter recommended providing greater clarity with respect to 
the meanings of, and differences between, the terms ``Substitution 
Collateral Identifier'' and ``Substitution Collateral Identifier 
Type.'' \54\ Upon consideration of this comment, the OFR has modified 
the Final Rules to make clear that ``Substitution Collateral 
Identifier'' refers to the actual value of the identifier, which refers 
to a specific financial instrument. The field ``Substitution Collateral 
Identifier Type'' refers to the numbering system to which the 
identifier belongs, such as CUSIP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \54\ DTCC letter, p. 9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

iii. Submission Process and Implementation
A. Submission Process
    Consistent with its intent noted in the NPRM, the Office will 
require submission through a collection agent, as it believes this 
approach will decrease the costs of compliance for covered reporters 
and allow data reporting to commence sooner than would otherwise be 
possible. As also specifically contemplated in the NPRM, the Federal 
Reserve Board will act as the Office's collection agent, with required 
data to be submitted directly by covered

[[Page 4982]]

reporters to the FRBNY. The FRBNY will transmit collected data to the 
Office.
    As noted in Section II.b. above, the Council has authorized the OFR 
to share with the FRBNY the data the OFR will collect under the Final 
Rules. As a result, the FRBNY will have access to the reported data, in 
part, to produce the SOFR and BGCR. To produce these reference rate 
calculations, data on repo transactions must be submitted by covered 
reporters to the FRBNY no later than 6:00 a.m. Eastern time on the 
business day following the transaction. The submission process will 
allow for the secure, automated transmission of files. As contemplated 
in the NPRM, the Office is publishing concurrently with the Final Rules 
specific reporting instructions and technical guidance on the Office's 
website at https://www.financialresearch.gov/data/cleared-repo-data 
regarding matters such as data submission mechanics and formatting. As 
necessary, we will update these documents and publish any updates in 
the same location.
    One commenter, a standards advisory group, recommended that its own 
standard, ISO 20022, could be of use in collecting data pursuant to the 
Final Rules.\55\ Suggesting that ISO 20022 has comprehensive coverage 
of information related to repo processing, including definitions and 
messaging for both financings and the movement of collateral and cash, 
it also invited a dialogue with respect to ISO standards within its 
field of competence.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \55\ ISO/TC 68 letter, p. 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Office has considered the comment received and studied the use 
of ISO 20022. The ISO 20022 standard is for transaction messaging, 
while the reporting required under the Final Rules is based not on 
transaction flow, but rather on a single readout of all transactions 
within a particular period. As a result, the Office has determined not 
to directly reference the ISO 20022 standard for use in collecting data 
pursuant to the Final Rules.
B. Implementation
    The NPRM proposed that the Final Rules would go into effect 60 days 
after their publication in the Federal Register and that covered 
reporters would begin to comply with the Final Rules 60 days after 
their effective date. The Office believed that this implementation 
period would provide adequate time for covered reporters to comply with 
the proposed requirements. However, the Office requested comment on 
whether the proposed 60-day compliance period for a CCP that is a 
covered reporter on the effective date of the rule provided sufficient 
time to comply with the data-reporting requirements and whether 
increasing the period between the effective date of a final rule and 
the subsequent compliance date would substantially reduce burdens for 
covered reporters or repo market participants, or improve the quality 
of the data reported. It also specifically asked whether there were any 
aspects of the proposed collection for which a phased-in reporting 
requirement would be particularly useful.\56\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \56\ 83 FR 31896, 31907.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In response to these requests, the one currently expected covered 
reporter recommended that the proposed implementation timeframe be 
reconsidered. Specifically, it suggested, operational complexities 
related to the scale of the data-field builds required, along with 
necessary testing, militated in favor of a longer implementation 
timeframe. The commenter also stated that while it did not believe all 
of the information requested in the NPRM could be collected in the 
timeframe proposed, certain elements could be provided sooner than 
others.
    As a result, the commenter recommended a phased implementation 
process, with all specified data elements, other than those requiring 
an LEI, to be reported within 240 days of the Final Rules' effective 
date. Data elements requiring LEI data would then be reported within 
180 days after the compliance date for the other data elements. Such a 
phase-in process was necessary, it suggested, to allow a covered 
reporter sufficient time to take necessary measures to avoid 
compromising the integrity of the data to be collected. The 
implementation schedule suggested by the commenter was as follows:

    Phase 1: FICC would transmit all of the data needed to calculate 
the SOFR and the BGCR in the same format that it currently supplies 
to the FRBNY 60 days after the effective date of a final rule.
    Phase 2: FICC would begin reporting DVP Service repo transaction 
data (excluding the LEI) within 120 days after the Phase 1 
compliance date (180 days after the effective date of a final rule).
    Phase 3: FICC would begin reporting transaction data from the 
GCF Repo Service (excluding the LEI) within 60 days after the Phase 
2 compliance date (240 days after the effective date of a final 
rule).
    Phase 4: FICC would begin reporting LEI data associated with the 
DVP Service and GCF Repo Service transactions within 180 days after 
the phase 3 compliance date (420 days after the effective date of a 
final rule).

    The Office has considered the comments received on this issue and 
has decided to adopt in the Final Rules a phased implementation 
schedule similar to that recommended by the only currently expected 
covered reporter. Specifically, the Office is adopting a three-phase 
implementation schedule for a CCP that is a covered reporter on the 
effective date of the Final Rules that corresponds to the latter three 
stages proposed by the commenter. Because the data elements currently 
needed to calculate the SOFR are a subset of those included in the 
proposed delivery-versus-payment and general collateral collections, 
and the FRBNY currently obtains that data through its voluntary 
agreement with DTCC, the Office does not believe that adopting a three-
phase implementation schedule will create a gap in access to the data 
needed to calculate the SOFR.
    As a result, the office is adopting a three-phase implementation 
schedule as follows:

    Phase 1. With respect to all data elements listed in 12 CFR 
1610.10(c)(5), other than those data elements requiring an LEI of an 
entity other than the covered reporter, a covered reporter shall 
begin reporting within 180 days after the Final Rules' effective 
date.
    Phase 2. With respect to all data elements listed in 12 CFR 
1610.10(c)(3) and (4), other than those data elements requiring an 
LEI of an entity other than the covered reporter, a covered reporter 
shall begin reporting within 240 days after the Final Rules' 
effective date.
    Phase 3. With respect to all data elements listed in 12 CFR 
1610.10(c)(3), (4), and (5) that require reporting an LEI of an 
entity other than the covered reporter, a covered reporter is 
required to begin reporting these elements within 420 days after the 
Final Rules' effective date, if the covered reporter is able to 
effect any rulemaking through the SEC that is necessary to require 
market participants to obtain LEIs and provide them to the covered 
reporter. If a covered reporter is unable to effect such a 
rulemaking through the SEC, the covered reporter would not be 
required to report an LEI for any market participant that does not 
have an LEI, but would be required to continue to report market 
participants' legal names or internal identifiers.

    In order to provide a similar phased implementation schedule for 
any CCPs that become covered reporters after the effective date of the 
Final Rules, the Final Rules require such entities to comply with the 
reporting requirements beginning on the later of (i) the schedule 
applicable to CCPs that are covered reporters on the Final Rules' 
effective date or (ii) the first business day of the third calendar 
quarter following the calendar quarter in which such CCP meets the $50 
billion activity-based materiality threshold.
    The reporting obligations under the Final Rules would cease for any 
covered reporter that ceases to meet the $50

[[Page 4983]]

billion activity-based materiality threshold for at least four 
consecutive calendar quarters.

III. Administrative Law Matters

a. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collections contained in the Final Rules have been 
reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') 
under OMB Control No. 1505-0259. In accordance with the requirements of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (the ``PRA''), the Office may not conduct 
or sponsor, and a covered reporter is not required to respond to, an 
information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control 
number.
    Commenters on the Proposed Rules generally acknowledged the need 
for the Office to collect certain information on repo transactions in 
support of the work of the Council, its member agencies, and the Office 
for identifying and monitoring risks to financial stability, and to 
support the calculation of certain reference rates.
    Commenters also requested various modifications to or relief from 
aspects of the Proposed Rules that they stated would entail burdens 
that outweighed the benefits to the Office. This included a 
recommendation from the only currently expected covered reporter for a 
phased implementation process, over a longer period of time than the 
Office had proposed. However, none of the commenters provided comments, 
empirical data, estimates of costs or benefits, or other analyses 
directly addressing matters pertaining to the PRA discussion.
    The Office's ability to collect centrally cleared repo data in this 
collection derives in part from the authority to promulgate regulations 
regarding the type and scope of financial transaction and position data 
from financial companies on a schedule determined by the Director of 
the Office in consultation with the Council.\57\ The Office consulted 
with the Council on the proposed permanent collection of repo data at 
the Council's September 22, 2016, meeting.\58\ The Office also provided 
a public update to the Council on November 16, 2017.\59\ The Office 
provided a further update to the Council on October 16, 2018, and the 
Council voted to authorize the Office to share with the FRBNY the data 
the Office will collect under the Final Rules.\60\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \57\ 12 U.S.C. 5344(b)(1)(B)(iii).
    \58\ See Financial Stability Oversight Council, meeting minutes 
(September 22, 2016), https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/council-meetings/Documents/September222016_minutes.pdf.
    \59\ See Financial Stability Oversight Council, meeting minutes 
(November 16, 2017), https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/council-meetings/Documents/November162017_minutes.pdf, and Office, 
OFR Update on Bilateral Repo Collection (November 22, 2017), https://www.financialresearch.gov/from-the-management-team/2017/11/22/ofr-update-on-bilateral-repo-collection/.
    \60\ See FSOC, Minutes of the Financial Stability Council dated 
October 16, 2018, https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/fsoc/council-meetings/Documents/October162018_minutes.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Office also has authority to promulgate regulations pursuant to 
the Office's general rulemaking authority under Dodd-Frank Act section 
153, which authorizes the Office to issue rules, regulations, and 
orders to the extent necessary to carry out certain purposes and duties 
of the Office.\61\ In particular, the purposes and duties of the Office 
include supporting the Council in fulfilling its purposes and duties, 
and supporting Council member agencies, by collecting data on behalf of 
the Council and providing such data to the Council and Council member 
agencies, and standardizing the types and formats of data reported and 
collected.\62\ The Office must consult with the Chairperson of the 
Council prior to the promulgation of any rules under section 153 \63\--
these consultations occurred both before and after the publication of 
the NPRM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \61\ 12 U.S.C. 5343(a), (c)(1).
    \62\ 12 U.S.C. 5343(a). The Council's purposes and duties 
include identifying risks to U.S. financial stability; responding to 
emerging threats to the stability of the U.S. financial system; 
monitoring the financial services marketplace in order to identify 
potential threats to U.S. financial stability; making 
recommendations in such areas that will enhance the integrity, 
efficiency, competitiveness, and stability of the U.S. financial 
markets; and identifying gaps in regulation that could pose risks to 
the financial stability of the United States. 12 U.S.C. 5322(a).
    \63\ 12 U.S.C. 5343(c)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As noted above, commenters generally did not provide comments, 
empirical data, or other analyses directly addressing the Office's 
estimates in the PRA discussion. As discussed in detail in section II 
above, the Final Rules incorporate changes from the Proposed Rules to 
provide for a phased implementation process, over a longer period of 
time than the Office had proposed. However, this change does not impact 
the scope of financial companies subject to the requirements of the 
Final Rules, nor the estimated annual burden on a covered reporter once 
the Final Rules are fully implemented.
    As a result, the Office's estimate of an annual burden of 1,512 
hours per covered reporter remains unchanged. This figure is arrived at 
by estimating the daily reporting time to be approximately 3 hours for 
each general collateral and specific-security submission, multiplied by 
2 to reflect both types of submissions by the covered reporter, and 
multiplying that figure by an average of 252 business days in a year, 
the typical number of days per year that do not fall either on weekends 
or on holidays widely observed by the market.
    To estimate hourly wages, the Office used data from the May 2016 
Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics for 
credit intermediation and related activities (NAICS 522000). For hourly 
compensation, a figure of $75 per hour was used, which is an average of 
the 90th percentile wages in seven different categories of employment 
(compliance officers, accountants and auditors, lawyers, management 
occupations, financial analysts, software developers, and 
statisticians), plus an additional 32 percent to cover subsequent wage 
gains and non-wage benefits, which yields an estimate of $99 per 
hour.\64\ Using these assumptions, the Office estimates the recurring 
operational costs for general collateral and specific-security 
submissions to be $74,844 annually, for a total estimated annual cost 
to the covered reporter of $149,688.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \64\ The estimate includes an assumed additional 2 percent for 
subsequent wage gains from 2016 to 2017, and 30 percent for non-wage 
employee benefits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' June 
2017 Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_09082017.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Congress enacted the Regulatory Flexibility Act (the ``RFA'') to 
address concerns related to the effects of agency rules on small 
entities.\65\ The Office is sensitive to the impact its rules may 
impose on small entities. The RFA requires agencies either to provide 
an initial regulatory flexibility analysis with a proposed rule for 
which general notice of proposed rulemaking is required, or to certify 
that the proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.\66\ In accordance with section 
3(a) of the RFA, the Office is certifying that the Final Rules will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \65\ 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.
    \66\ 5 U.S.C. 603(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As discussed above, this rule will only apply to CCPs for repos 
whose average daily total open commitments in repos across all services 
over the prior calendar quarter is at least $50 billion. Currently, 
under this scope, this rule will apply only to one entity,

[[Page 4984]]

whose corporate parent's total consolidated assets were $39 billion as 
of March 31, 2018.\67\ Reporting will be required of additional CCPs 
beginning on the later of (i) the schedule outlined in 12 CFR 
1610.10(e)(1)(A), (B), and (C) or (ii) the first business day of the 
third calendar quarter after the calendar quarter in which such CCPs 
meet the $50 billion activity-based materiality threshold. If a covered 
reporter ceases to meet this threshold for at least four consecutive 
calendar quarters, its reporting obligations under this rule would 
cease.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \67\ See DTCC, ``DTCC Condensed Consolidated Financial 
Statements as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 and for the 
three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017,'' http://www.dtcc.com/~/
media/Files/Downloads/legal/financials/2018/DTCC-Condensed-
Consolidated-Financial-Statements-Q1-2018.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under regulations issued by the Small Business Administration, a 
``small entity'' includes those firms within the ``Finance and 
Insurance'' sector with asset sizes that vary from $7.5 million in 
assets to $550 million or less in assets.\68\ For purposes of the RFA, 
entities that are banks are considered small entities if their assets 
are less than or equal to $550 million. The level of the activity-based 
threshold under the Final Rules ensures that any respondent will be 
well beyond these small entity definitions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \68\ 13 CFR 121.201.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), it is 
hereby certified that this final rule will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

c. Congressional Review Act (CRA)

    This rule is not a major rule pursuant to the CRA, 5 U.S.C. 801 et 
seq.

 List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 1610

    Confidential business information, Economic statistics, Reference 
rates, Repurchase agreements, Clearing, Central counterparty, Data 
collection.


0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Office of Financial 
Research adds part 1610 to 12 CFR chapter 16 to read as follows:

PART 1610--REGULATORY DATA COLLECTIONS

Subpart A--Collections Generally
Sec.
1610.1 General authority.
1610.2 General definitions.
1610.3 Treatment of collected information.
1610.4-1610.9 [Reserved]
Subpart B--Specific Collections
1610.10 Centrally cleared repurchase agreement data.

    Authority:  12 U.S.C. 5343 and 5344.

Subpart A--Collections Generally


Sec.  1610.1  General authority.

    The collections under this part are made pursuant to the authority 
contained in 12 U.S.C. 5343(a) and (c)(1) and 5344(b).


Sec.  1610.2  General definitions.

    Council means the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
    Legal Entity Identifier or LEI for an entity means the global legal 
entity identifier maintained for such entity by a utility accredited by 
the Global LEI Foundation or by a utility endorsed by the Regulatory 
Oversight Committee that satisfies the standards implemented by the 
Global LEI Foundation. As used in this definition:
    (1) Regulatory Oversight Committee means the Regulatory Oversight 
Committee (of the Global LEI System), whose charter was set forth by 
the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the Group of Twenty 
and the Financial Stability Board, or any successor thereof; and
    (2) Global LEI Foundation means the not-for-profit organization 
organized under Swiss law by the Financial Stability Board in 2014, or 
any successor thereof.
    Office means the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of 
Financial Research.


Sec.  1610.3  Treatment of collected information.

    The Office will treat any financial transaction data or position 
data submitted to the Data Center under this part in accordance with 
the relevant provisions of law, including 12 U.S.C. 5343(b) and 
5344(b).


Sec. Sec.  1610.4-1610.9   [Reserved]

Subpart B--Specific Collections


Sec.  1610.10  Centrally cleared repurchase agreement data.

    (a) Definitions.
    Central counterparty means a clearing agency that interposes itself 
between the counterparties to transactions, acting functionally as the 
buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer.
    Clearing agency has the same meaning as set forth in 15 U.S.C. 
78c(a)(23).
    Covered reporter means any central counterparty for repurchase 
agreement transactions that meets the criteria set forth in paragraph 
(b)(2) of this section; provided, however, that any covered reporter 
shall cease to be a covered reporter only if it does not meet the 
dollar threshold specified in paragraph (b)(2) for at least four 
consecutive calendar quarters.
    General collateral trade means a repurchase agreement transaction 
in which the trade reported to the central counterparty is for a 
category of securities as opposed to a specific security.
    Repurchase agreement transaction or transaction means an agreement 
of a counterparty to transfer securities to another counterparty in 
exchange for the receipt of cash, and the simultaneous agreement of the 
former counterparty to later reacquire the same securities (or any 
subsequently substituted securities) from that same counterparty in 
exchange for the payment of cash; or an agreement of a counterparty to 
acquire securities from another counterparty in exchange for the 
payment of cash, and the simultaneous agreement of the former party to 
later transfer back the same securities (or any subsequently 
substituted securities) to the latter counterparty in exchange for the 
receipt of cash.
    Specific-security trade means a repurchase agreement transaction 
where the trade as reported to the central counterparty is for a 
mutually agreed upon specific security.
    (b) Purpose and scope--(1) Purpose. The purpose of this data 
collection is to require the reporting of certain information to the 
Office about repurchase agreement transactions cleared through a 
central counterparty. The information will be used by the Office to 
support the Council and Council member agencies by facilitating 
financial stability monitoring including research consistent with 
support of the Council and its member agencies, and to support the 
calculation of certain reference rates.
    (2) Scope of application. Reporting under this Section is required 
by any central counterparty for repurchase agreement transactions that 
meets the definition of financial company set forth in 12 U.S.C. 
5341(2) and whose average daily total open commitments in repurchase 
agreement contracts (gross cash positions prior to netting) across all 
services over all business days during the prior calendar quarter is at 
least $50 billion.
    (c) Data required. (1) Covered reporters shall report trade and 
collateral information on all repurchase agreement transactions cleared 
through any of its services, subject to paragraph (c)(2) of this 
section, in accordance with the prescribed reporting format in this 
section.
    (2) Covered reporters shall only report trade and collateral 
information with

[[Page 4985]]

respect to any repurchase agreement transaction for which there is a 
current or future delivery obligation as of the file observation date, 
including forward-starting transactions.
    (3) Covered reporters shall submit the following data elements for 
all general collateral trades:

         Table 1 to Sec.   1610.10(c)--General Collateral Trades
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Data element                         Explanation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
File Observation Date........  The observation date of the file
                                (typically one business day before the
                                day the file is submitted).
Covered Reporter LEI.........  The Legal Entity Identifier of the
                                covered reporter.
Transaction ID...............  Respondent-generated unique transaction
                                identifier.
Submission Timestamp.........  Time that trade is first submitted to
                                clearing service.
Match Timestamp..............  Time that trade is matched by clearing
                                service.
Securities Asset Class         Asset class identifier.
 Identifier Value.
Securities Asset Class         Type of securities identifier used (the
 Identifier Type.               numbering system to which the identifier
                                belongs).
Cash Provider LEI............  The Legal Entity Identifier of the cash
                                provider.
Cash Provider Name...........  The legal name of the cash provider.
Cash Provider Internal         The internal identifier assigned by the
 Identifier.                    covered reporter to the cash provider.
Cash Provider Direct Clearing  The Legal Entity Identifier of the direct
 Member LEI.                    clearing member through which the cash
                                provider accessed the clearing service.
Cash Provider Direct Clearing  The legal name of the of the direct
 Member Name.                   clearing member through which the cash
                                provider accessed the clearing service.
Cash Provider Direct Clearing  The internal identifier assigned by the
 Member Internal Identifier.    covered reporter to the direct clearing
                                member through which the cash provider
                                accessed the clearing service.
Securities Provider LEI......  The Legal Entity Identifier of the
                                securities provider.
Securities Provider Name.....  The legal name of the securities
                                provider.
Securities Provider Internal   The internal identifier assigned by the
 Identifier.                    covered reporter to the securities
                                provider.
Securities Provider Direct     The Legal Entity Identifier of the direct
 Clearing Member LEI.           clearing member through which the
                                securities provider accessed the
                                clearing service.
Securities Provider Direct     The legal name of the direct clearing
 Clearing Member Name.          member through which the securities
                                provider accessed the clearing service.
Securities Provider Direct     The internal identifier assigned by the
 Clearing Member Internal       covered reporter to the direct clearing
 Identifier.                    member through which the securities
                                provider accessed the clearing service.
Broker LEI...................  The Legal Entity Identifier of the
                                broker.
Broker Name..................  The legal name of the broker.
Broker Internal Identifier...  The internal identifier assigned by the
                                covered reporter to the broker.
Start Date...................  The start date of the repurchase
                                agreement.
End Date.....................  The date the repurchase agreement
                                matures.
Rate.........................  The repurchase agreement rate, expressed
                                as an annual percentage rate on an
                                actual/360-day basis.
Principal....................  The amount of cash borrowed or lent.
Optionality..................  The type of optionality, if any, in the
                                repurchase agreement.
Minimum Maturity.............  The earliest possible date on which the
                                transaction could end in accordance with
                                its contractual terms (taking into
                                account optionality).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (4) Covered reporters shall submit the following data elements on 
the collateral delivered against net general collateral exposures for 
all general collateral trades:

      Table 2 to Sec.   1610.10(c)--General Collateral Net Exposure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Data element                         Explanation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
File Observation Date........  The observation date of the file
                                (typically one business day before the
                                day the file is submitted).
Covered Reporter LEI.........  The Legal Entity Identifier of the
                                covered reporter.
Direct Clearing Member LEI...  The Legal Entity Identifier of the direct
                                clearing member of the clearing service.
Direct Clearing Member Name..  The legal name of the direct clearing
                                member.
Direct Clearing Member         The internal identifier assigned by the
 Internal Identifier.           covered reporter to the direct clearing
                                member.
Transaction Side.............  Indicates the side of the transaction:
                                Collateral was received by or delivered
                                from the covered reporter.
Securities Identifier Value..  Identifier of securities transferred.
Securities Identifier Type...  Type of securities identifier used (the
                                numbering system to which the identifier
                                belongs).
Securities Quantity..........  Par value or quantity (as applicable) of
                                securities transferred.
Securities Value.............  The market value as of most recent
                                valuation of securities transferred,
                                including accrued interest.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (5) Covered reporters shall submit the following data elements for 
all specific-security trades:

[[Page 4986]]



         Table 3 to Sec.   1610.10(c)--Specific-Security Trades
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Data element                         Explanation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
File Observation Date........  The observation date of the file
                                (typically one business day before the
                                day the file is submitted).
Covered Reporter LEI.........  The Legal Entity Identifier of the
                                covered reporter.
Transaction ID...............  Respondent-generated unique transaction
                                identifier.
Cash Provider LEI............  The Legal Entity Identifier of the cash
                                provider.
Cash Provider Name...........  The legal name of the cash provider.
Cash Provider Internal         The internal identifier assigned by the
 Identifier.                    covered reporter to the cash provider.
Cash Provider Direct Clearing  The Legal Entity Identifier of the direct
 Member LEI.                    clearing member through which the cash
                                provider accessed the clearing service.
Cash Provider Direct Clearing  The legal name of the of the direct
 Member Name.                   clearing member through which the cash
                                provider accessed the clearing service.
Cash Provider Direct Clearing  The internal identifier assigned by the
 Member Internal Identifier.    covered reporter to the direct clearing
                                member through which the cash provider
                                accessed the clearing service.
Securities Provider LEI......  The Legal Entity Identifier of the
                                securities provider.
Securities Provider Name.....  The legal name of the securities
                                provider.
Securities Provider Internal   The internal identifier assigned by the
 Identifier.                    covered reporter to the securities
                                provider.
Securities Provider Direct     The Legal Entity Identifier of the direct
 Clearing Member LEI.           clearing member through which the
                                securities provider accessed the
                                clearing service.
Securities Provider Direct     The legal name of the direct clearing
 Clearing Member Name.          member through which the securities
                                provider accessed the clearing service.
Securities Provider Direct     The internal identifier assigned by the
 Clearing Member Internal       covered reporter to the direct clearing
 Identifier.                    member through which the securities
                                provider accessed the clearing service.
Broker LEI...................  The Legal Entity Identifier of the
                                broker.
Broker Name..................  The legal name of the broker.
Broker Internal Identifier...  The internal identifier assigned by the
                                covered reporter to the broker.
Submission Timestamp.........  Time that trade is first submitted to
                                clearing service.
Match Timestamp..............  Time that trade is matched by clearing
                                service.
Start Date...................  The start date of the repurchase
                                agreement.
End Date.....................  The date when the repurchase agreement
                                matures; the close leg settlement date.
Optionality..................  The type of optionality, if any.
Minimum Maturity.............  The earliest possible date on which the
                                transaction could end in accordance with
                                its contractual terms (taking into
                                account optionality).
Security Identifier Value....  Identifier of pledged security.
Securities Identifier Type...  Type of securities identifier used (the
                                numbering system to which the identifier
                                belongs).
Securities Quantity..........  Par value or quantity (as applicable) of
                                securities transferred.
Substitution Collateral        Asset class identifier or no
 Identifier Value.              substitution.
Substitution Collateral        Type of securities identifier used (the
 Identifier Type.               numbering system to which the identifier
                                belongs).
Cash Provider Start Leg        The amount of cash transferred by the
 Amount.                        cash provider on the open leg of the
                                transaction.
Securities Provider Start Leg  The amount of cash received by the
 Amount.                        securities provider on the open leg of
                                the transaction.
Cash Provider Rate...........  The rate of interest received by the cash
                                provider, expressed as an annual
                                percentage rate on an actual/360-day
                                basis.
Securities Provider Rate.....  The rate of interest paid by the
                                securities provider, expressed as an
                                annual percentage rate on an actual/360-
                                day basis.
Cash Provider Close Leg        The amount of cash received by the cash
 Settlement Amount.             provider on the close leg of the
                                transaction.
Securities Provider Close Leg  The amount of cash paid by the securities
 Settlement Amount.             provider on the close leg of the
                                transaction.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (d) Reporting process and collection agent. The Office may 
designate a collection agent for the data reporting. Covered reporters 
shall submit the required data for each business day by 6:00 a.m. 
Eastern time on the following business day.
    (e) Compliance. (1) Any central counterparty that is a covered 
reporter as of the effective date of this Section shall comply with the 
reporting requirements pursuant to this Section in the following 
manner:
    (i) Subject to paragraph (e)(1)(iii) of this section, a covered 
reporter shall begin reporting all data elements required to be 
submitted pursuant to paragraph (c)(5) of this section within 180 days 
after April 22, 2019.
    (ii) Subject to paragraph (e)(1)(iii) of this section, a covered 
reporter shall begin reporting all data elements required to be 
submitted pursuant to paragraphs (c)(3) and (4) of this section within 
240 days after April 22, 2019.
    (iii) If a covered reporter is able to effect a rulemaking through 
the Securities and Exchange Commission requiring each direct clearing 
member, counterparty, and broker associated with a repurchase agreement 
transaction to obtain an LEI and provide it to the covered reporter, 
the covered reporter shall begin reporting all data elements requiring 
an LEI other than its own pursuant to paragraphs (c)(3) through (5) of 
this section by the later of the effective date of its rulemaking, or 
420 days April 22, 2019, and continue to report all data elements 
requiring a legal name or internal identifier until 365 days after the 
date the covered reporter begins reporting all data elements requiring 
an LEI pursuant to this section. If a covered reporter is unable to 
effect such a rulemaking, the covered reporter is not required to 
report any data elements requiring an LEI other than its own pursuant 
to paragraphs (c)(3) through (5) of this section, except, if available, 
the LEI for any direct clearing member, counterparty, or broker 
associated with a repurchase agreement transaction that has an LEI, and 
shall report all data elements requiring a legal name or internal 
identifier in any report submitted under this section regardless of 
whether the relevant entity has an LEI. A covered reporter shall report 
its own LEI in accordance with the schedules set forth

[[Page 4987]]

in paragraphs (e)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section.
    (2) The first submission by any central counterparty that is a 
covered reporter as of the effective date of this Section shall be 
submitted on the first business day after the applicable compliance 
date under paragraph (e)(1) of this section.

    Note 1 to paragraph (e)(2): For example, if this section became 
effective on March 20, 2019, a central counterparty that meets the 
dollar threshold specified in paragraph (b)(2) of this section for 
the calendar quarter ending December 31, 2018, would be required to 
submit its first report under paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section on 
the first business day after September 16, 2019, its first report 
under paragraph (e)(1)(ii) of this section on November 15, 2019, and 
its first report with data elements requiring an LEI (other than 
that of the covered reporter) on May 13, 2020 (if the covered 
reporter effected the rulemaking described in paragraph (e)(1)(iii) 
of this section).

    (3) Any central counterparty that becomes a covered reporter after 
the effective date of this Section shall comply with the reporting 
requirements pursuant to this Section beginning on the later of the 
schedule set forth in paragraphs (e)(1)(i) through (iii) of this 
section or the first business day of the third calendar quarter 
following the calendar quarter in which such central counterparty meets 
the dollar threshold specified in paragraph (b)(2) of this section.

    Note 2 to paragraph (e)(3):  For example, if this section became 
effective on March 20, 2019, a central counterparty that first meets 
the dollar threshold specified in paragraph (b)(2) of this section 
for the calendar quarter ending June 30, 2019, would be required to 
submit its first report under paragraphs (e)(1)(i) and (ii) of this 
section on January 2, 2020, and its first report with data elements 
requiring an LEI (other than that of the covered reporter) on May 
13, 2020 (if the covered reporter effected the rulemaking described 
in paragraph (e)(1)(iii) of this section by May 13, 2020).


    Note 3 to paragraph (e)(3):  For example, if this section became 
effective on March 20, 2019, a central counterparty that first met 
the dollar threshold specified in paragraph (b)(2) for the calendar 
quarter ending June 30, 2020, would be required to comply with all 
of the reporting requirements under this section on January 2, 2021 
(and would continue to be required to report all data elements 
requiring a legal name or internal identifier for at least 365 days 
after the effective date of the covered reporter's rulemaking 
described in paragraph (e)(1)(iii) if such effective date occurred 
after January 2, 2021).


Ryan D. Brady,
Executive Secretary, Department of the Treasury.
[FR Doc. 2019-02639 Filed 2-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-25-P