[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28790-28792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13082]
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (``ICR'')
abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and
Budget (``OMB'') for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature
of the information collection and its expected costs and burdens.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 22, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect
of the information collection, including suggestions for reducing the
burden, may be submitted directly to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs (``OIRA'') in OMB within 30 days of publication of
this notice by either of the methods specified below. Please identify
the comments by ``OMB Control Numbers 3038-0023 and 3038-0072; Adoption
of Revised Registration Form 7-R.''
By email addressed to: [email protected]; or
By mail addressed to: Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention Desk Officer for
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 725 17th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20503.
A copy of all comments submitted to OIRA should be sent to the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'') by any of the
following methods. The copies should refer to ``OMB Control Numbers
3038-0023 and 3038-0072.''
By mail addressed to: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary
of the Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three
Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581;
By Hand Delivery/Courier to the same address; or
Through the Commission's website at http://comments.cftc.gov. Please follow the instructions for submitting
comments through the website.
Please submit your comments using only one method. All comments
must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an English
translation. Comments will be posted as received to http://www.cftc.gov. You should submit only information that you wish to make
available publicly. If you wish the Commission to consider information
that you believe is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act, a petition for confidential treatment of the exempt
information may be submitted according to the procedures established in
Sec. 145.9 of the Commission's regulations.\1\ The Commission reserves
the right, but shall have no obligation, to review, pre-screen, filter,
redact, refuse or remove any or all of your submission from http://www.cftc.gov that it may deem to be inappropriate for publication, such
as obscene language. All submissions that have been redacted or removed
that contain comments on the merits of the ICR will be retained in the
public comment file and will be considered as required under the
Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable laws, and may be
accessible under the Freedom of Information Act.
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\1\ 17 CFR 145.9.
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A copy of the supporting statements for the collections of
information discussed herein may be obtained by visiting http://RegInfo.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Kulkin, Director, (202) 418-
5213, [email protected]; or Christopher W. Cummings, Special Counsel,
(202) 418-5445, [email protected], Division of Swap Dealer and
Intermediary Oversight, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st
Street NW, Washington, DC 20581, and
[[Page 28791]]
refer to OMB Control Numbers 3038-0023 and 3038-0072.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Titles: Registration Under the Commodity Exchange Act (OMB control
number 3038-0023); Registration of Swap Dealers and Major Swap
Participants (OMB control number 3038-0072). This is a request for
extension and revision of these currently approved information
collections.
Abstract: In Revised Registration Form 7-R, 84 FR 8671 (Mar. 11,
2019), the Commission published a revised version of Commission Form 7-
R. The Form 7-R is the application form that entities must use to
register with the Commission as a futures commission merchant, retail
foreign exchange dealer, introducing broker, commodity trading advisor,
commodity pool operator, leverage transaction merchant, swap dealer,
major swap participant, or floor trader firm. Separately, in Agency
Information Collection Activities: Notice of Intent to Extend and
Revise Collections 3038-0023 and 3038-0072; Adoption of Revised
Registration Form 7-R, 84 FR 8696 (Mar. 11, 2019) (``60-Day Notice''),
the Commission addressed the PRA implications of the revisions to Form
7-R. As indicated above, Form 7-R is covered by two OMB control
numbers. OMB control number 3038-0023 applies to Form 7-R in connection
with registering as a futures commission merchant, retail foreign
exchange dealer, introducing broker, commodity trading advisor,
commodity pool operator, floor trader firm or leverage transaction
merchant.\2\ OMB control number 3038-0072 applies to Form 7-R in
connection with for registration as a swap dealer or major swap
participant.\3\ The revisions to Form 7-R, when considered together in
the aggregate, result in no net change to the existing information
collection burden associated with Form 7-R.
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\2\ OMB control number 3038-0023 also covers Commission Forms 8-
R, 7-W and 8-T in connection with various registration activities
involving floor brokers, floor traders, futures commission
merchants, retail foreign exchange dealers, introducing brokers,
commodity trading advisors, commodity pool operators, floor trader
firms or leverage transaction merchants, and their principals and
associated persons, as applicable. Forms 8-R, 7-W and 8-T were not
amended in connection with the revision of Form 7-R.
\3\ OMB control number 3038-0072 also covers Commission Forms 8-
R, 7-W and 8-T in connection with various registration activities
involving swap dealers and major swap participants, and principals
thereof. Forms 8-R, 7-W and 8-T were not amended in connection with
the revision of Form 7-R.
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Revision of Commission Form 7-R. The revised Form 7-R contains
several changes that, when considered together in aggregate, result in
no net change to the existing information collection burden associated
with Form 7-R. That burden varies by registration category and is
currently 0.5 hour for futures commission merchants, 0.4 hour for
introducing brokers, 0.4 hour for commodity pool operators, 0.4 hour
for commodity trading advisors, 0.5 hour for floor trader firms, 0.5
hour for retail foreign exchange dealers, 1 hour for swap dealers, and
1 hour for major swap participants. Discussion of the noteworthy
changes follows.
In the section titled ``Location of Business Records,'' Form 7-R no
longer separately requests that non-U.S. applicants identify the non-
U.S. address where their business records are located. Instead, both
U.S. and non-U.S. applicants are required to comply only with the
existing requirements of Form 7-R to identify the location of their
business records, which remain unchanged, and, for non-U.S. applicants,
to indicate that such records will be produced for inspection at NFA's
offices, or at another physical location (not a post office box) within
the U.S that the applicant identifies.
In the section titled ``Holding Company Information,'' the revised
Form 7-R requests additional information about any entity that is a
principal (as defined in Form 7-R) of the applicant. Form 7-R
previously required applicants to identify by name any entity that was
a principal of the applicant. The revised Form 7-R requires, for each
entity that is identified as a principal of the applicant, then the
applicant also must provide the entity's Federal EIN and the location
where the entity is incorporated, organized, or established. This
additional information is intended to ensure accurate identification of
the entity, given that firms sometimes can have the same or similar
names.
In the section titled ``Disciplinary Information--Regulatory
Disclosures,'' a new question was added to existing Question E. The new
question directs the applicant to disclose whether it has ever been
found to have ``failed to supervise another person's activities under
any investment-related statute or regulation.'' The new question is
intended to ensure complete disclosure of conduct that may result in a
refusal or limitation on registration.
Items that pertain only to NFA membership have been removed from
the form. In the past, Form 7-R functioned as a registration form for
the Commission and NFA, and as an application for NFA membership. To
the extent that questions ask for information that is necessary for NFA
membership but is not necessary for registration, those questions have
been removed from the form and will appear in a separate application
for NFA membership. Specifically, revised Form 7-R no longer contains:
A series of questions that inquire whether the applicant will transact
in retail off-exchange foreign currency, swap, futures, or options; a
question that is directed to applicants that are registering in
multiple capacities that asks them to select the capacity in which they
intend to vote on NFA membership matters; a question that asks
applicants that are applying to register as a futures commission
merchant to indicate whether the applicant has ``applied for membership
at any United States commodity exchange;'' a question that asks an
applicant that is applying for registration as a swap dealer or major
swap participant to indicate whether the applicant is currently
regulated by other U.S. regulators and to identify those regulators;
and lastly, contact information for the applicant's Membership Contact,
Accounting Contact, Assessment Fee Contact, Arbitration Contact,
Compliance Contact, or Chief Compliance Officer Contact.
Additionally, NFA is simplifying the process by which it requests
supplemental information and documentation regarding the applicant's
criminal, regulatory or financial disclosures. The prior version of
Form 7-R requested that applicants provide a written explanation of the
facts and circumstances regarding any such disclosures. Applicants were
also separately requested to provide NFA with copies of pertinent
documents associated with each disclosure. To consolidate and modernize
this process, the revised Form 7-R allows applicants to complete
electronically a separate ``Disclosure Matter Page'' for each matter,
instance or event requiring disclosure and to simultaneously upload all
pertinent documents associated with each disclosure. The Disclosure
Matter Page provides applicants with an efficient and effective method
of supplying the supplemental information and documentation that NFA
requests in the normal course whenever an applicant responds
affirmatively to any of the questions regarding criminal, regulatory or
financial disclosures.
Lastly, revised Form 7-R contains several changes that do not alter
the information collection burdens associated with Form 7-R. The
revised Form 7-R incorporates new functionality throughout the form,
[[Page 28792]]
consisting of hyperlinks to the text of the applicable provisions of
the Commodity Exchange Act, Commission Regulations, and NFA Rules,
whenever those authorities are referenced in the form. Additionally,
revised Form 7-R incorporates certain clarifying language where
appropriate. For example, the term ``futures'' has been replaced with
the term ``derivatives'' in several locations to more accurately
reflect the full scope of the Commission's jurisdiction. Similarly, the
reference to a failure ``to pay an award issued in a futures-related
arbitration'' was replaced with the phrase ``failure to pay an award
related to a CFTC-related product.'' The revised Form 7-R contains
other changes to the language, formatting and organization of Form 7-R,
all of which--individually and collectively--do not alter the
information collection burdens associated with Form 7-R. The only
changes to Form 7-R that could affect the information collection
burdens associated with the form are those discussed above.
Comments. In the 60-Day Notice, the Commission provided 60 days for
public comment on the extension and revision of the currently approved
information collections under OMB control numbers 3038-0023 and 3038-
0072 including, among other things, its estimates regarding the
modified information collection burdens associated with the amendments
to Form 7-R. The Commission received one relevant comment letter that:
(1) Contended that a new question that was added to Question E of Form
7-R directing the applicant to disclose whether it has ever been found
to have ``failed to supervise another person's activities under any
investment-related statute or regulation'' is redundant because
Question E already requires an applicant to disclose whether it has
``violated any provision of any investment-related statute or
regulation thereunder''; and (2) suggested broadening Question G of
Form 7-R by deleting the portion of that question that only requires
disclosure of self-regulatory organizations actions ``that prevented or
restricted the firm's ability to engage in any business in the
financial services industry.'' \4\ The letter did not address or offer
alternatives to the Commission's estimates of the burden associated
with revised Form 7-R. The Commission has determined that no further
changes to Form 7-R or the information collection burdens associated
therewith are warranted in response to this comment because: (1) The
new required disclosure item in Question E asks for different
information than the existing item that was claimed to be redundant,
and is intended to ensure complete disclosure of conduct that may
result in a refusal or limitation on registration; \5\ and (2) the
Commission believes that the suggested broadening of Question G would
require disclosure of matters that are outside the jurisdiction of the
Commission.\6\
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\4\ See Letter from James L. Simon dated May 6, 2019, available
at https://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/ViewComment.aspx?id=62116&SearchText=.
\5\ See Adoption of Revised Registration Form 7-R, 84 FR 8671,
8672 (Mar. 11, 2019).
\6\ If Question G were revised as suggested, it would require
the applicant to disclose whether it has been the subject of any
order issued by or a party to any agreement with a U.S. or non-U.S.
regulatory authority (other than the CFTC), including but not
limited to a licensing authority, or self-regulatory organization
(other than NFA or a U.S. futures exchange).
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Burden Statement: As explained above, the Commission believes that
the revisions to Form 7-R will result in no net change to the
information collection burdens associated with that Form under OMB
control numbers 3038-0023 and 3038-0072.\7\
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\7\ The revisions to Form 7-R do not change the existing
estimated number of respondents under OMB control numbers 3038-0023
and 3038-0072. This estimate includes the collection burdens
associated with Forms 7-R, 7-W, 8-R and 8-T, based on the historical
practice of the Commission of addressing the burden estimates in
aggregate, rather than separately on a form-by-form basis, for all
of the registration forms: Forms 7-R, 7-W, 8-R, and 8-W.
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The Commission estimates the burden of this collection of
information under OMB control number 3038-0023 to be:
Respondents/Affected Entities: Users of Form 7-R that are futures
commission merchants, retail foreign exchange dealers, introducing
brokers, commodity trading advisors, commodity pool operators, floor
trader firms, and leverage transaction merchants.
Estimated number of respondents: 78,055.\8\
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\8\ As noted above and in the 60-day notice, the revisions to
Form 7-R do not change the existing estimated number of respondents
under OMB control numbers 3038-0023 and 3038-0072. However,
regarding the estimated number of respondents for OMB control number
3038-0023, the estimate in the 60-Day Notice incorrectly stated that
there were 78.055 respondents. The correct estimate is 78,055
respondents. There is no change in the estimated total annual burden
on respondents for collection 3038-0023, which is 7,735 hours.
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Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 7,735 hours.
Frequency of collection: Periodically.
There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs
associated with this collection.
The Commission estimates the burden of this collection of
information under OMB control number 3038-0072 to be:
Respondents/Affected Entities: Users of Form 7-R that are swap
dealers and major swap participants. The following estimates are based
on the average annual number of swap dealer and major swap participant
Form 7-R filers for the past three years.
Estimated number of respondents: 772.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 672 hours.
Frequency of collection: Periodically.
There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs
associated with this collection.
Dated: June 14, 2019.
Robert Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2019-13082 Filed 6-19-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P