[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 78 (Thursday, April 24, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17269-17273]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-07033]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-102889 File No. 600-44]


CME Securities Clearing, Inc.; Order Instituting Proceedings To 
Determine Whether To Grant or Deny an Application for Registration as a 
Clearing Agency Under Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934

April 18, 2025.

I. Introduction

    On December 13, 2024, CME Securities Clearing, Inc. (``CMESC'') 
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') an 
application on Form CA-1 (``Application'') under section 17A of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') seeking to register 
as a clearing agency.\1\ Notice of the Application was published for 
comment in the Federal Register on January 22, 2025.\2\
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1. Non-confidential aspects of the 
Application, including any exhibits thereto cited in this order, are 
available on the Commission's website at https://www.sec.gov/rules-regulations/other-commission-orders-notices-information/cme-form-ca-1.
    \2\ Release No. 34-102200 (Jan. 15, 2025), 90 FR 7713 (Jan. 25, 
2025).

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[[Page 17270]]

    The Commission received comments on the Application.\3\ Each 
commenter either expressed support for the Application or generally 
expressed support for the expansion of access to the clearing of 
transactions in U.S. Treasury securities through the approval of new 
clearing agencies.\4\ The commenters also recommended that CMESC 
consider changes to the Application that, among other things, would 
address regulatory capital concerns for participants in the clearing 
agency that are banking organizations,\5\ modify its margining 
practices to facilitate the withdrawal of excess margin,\6\ provide 
participants that are Members more control over actions taken by Users 
that would affect the Members' management of its financial risks,\7\ 
clarify certain procedures that permit a User to have a direct 
relationship with CMESC,\8\ and modify certain risk management and 
default management provisions of its proposed rules to enhance risk 
management and reduce cost.\9\
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    \3\ The public comment file for the Application is available on 
the Commission's website at: https://www.sec.gov/comments/600-44/600-44.htm.
    \4\ See letters from Katherine Darras, General Counsel, 
International Swaps and Derivatives Association, dated Mar. 10, 
2025, at 1 (``ISDA''); Allison Lurton, General Counsel and Chief 
Legal officer, FIA, dated Mar. 10, 2025, at 1 (``FIA''); 
Ji[rcaron][iacute] Kr[oacute]l, Deputy CEO, Global Head of 
Government Affairs, AIMA, dated Mar. 10, 2025, at 2 (``AIMA''); 
William C. Thum and Robert Toomey, SIFMA and SIFMA Asset Management 
Group, dated Mar. 10, 2025, at 2 (``SIFMA & AMG'').
    \5\ See, e.g., SIFMA & AMG at 2-3.
    \6\ See, e.g., ISDA at 3.
    \7\ See, e.g., FIA at 11. Capitalized terms not defined in this 
order are defined in the Application. See, e.g., Exhibit E-3 
(proposed rules of the clearing agency, defining, among others, the 
terms Member and User).
    \8\ See SIFMA & AMG at 3; FIA at 11; ISDA at 4-5.
    \9\ See, e.g., ISDA at 6-7.
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    Section 19(a)(1) of the Exchange Act requires the Commission, 
within ninety days of the date of publication of notice of an 
application for registration as a clearing agency, or such longer 
period as to which the applicant consents, to, by order, grant such 
registration or institute proceedings to determine whether such 
registration should be denied.\10\ This order institutes proceedings 
under section 19(a)(1)(B) of the Exchange Act to determine whether 
CMESC's Application for registration as a clearing agency should be 
granted or denied, and provides notice of the grounds for denial under 
consideration by the Commission, as set forth below.
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    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(a)(1).
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II. Description of the Application

    CMESC is applying to register as a clearing agency to provide 
central counterparty clearing services to market participants for their 
secondary cash market transactions in U.S. Treasury securities and 
transactions in repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements involving 
U.S. Treasury securities.\11\ The Application provides detailed 
information regarding how CMESC proposes to satisfy the requirements of 
the Exchange Act. The proposed Rules of CMESC are included as Exhibit 
E-3 to CMESC's Application.
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    \11\ See Exhibit J.
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    The Application states that CMESC would be wholly owned by its 
parent company, CME Group, Inc.\12\ CMESC is a corporation registered 
in the state of Delaware.\13\ CMESC would have its own Board of 
Directors, made up of at least five independent directors, one member 
representative, and one user representative.\14\ CMESC would also have 
several Board committees, including a Nominating Committee, Audit 
Committee, Regulatory Oversight Committee, and Risk Management 
Committee.\15\
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    \12\ See Exhibit C and C-1 (narrative description of ownership 
and diagrams of overall CME Group structure).
    \13\ See Exhibit E-1 (certificate of incorporation).
    \14\ See Exhibit C-2 (diagram of CMESC's structure); Exhibit E-
2B (Board of Directors Charter).
    \15\ See Exhibit E-2C (Risk Management Committee Charter); E-2D 
(Nominating Committee Charter); E-2E (Audit Committee Charter), and 
Exhibit E-2F (Regulatory Oversight Committee Charter).
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    CMESC's proposed Rules describe two types of participants: first, 
Members, which would be able to clear proprietary Eligible Securities 
Transactions through CMESC and to authorize Users with respect to 
clearing Eligible Securities Transactions through CMESC; and second, 
Users, which would be authorized by a Member and would be further 
classified as Independent Users or Supported Users. CMESC states that 
the primary difference between these User Types is that an Independent 
User is obligated to post margin and make variation payments to CMESC 
for its Independent User Account, whereas that obligation falls to a 
Supported User's authorizing Member in relation to the Supported User's 
Supported User Account at CMESC. For both types of Users, the User is 
directly liable to CMESC for settlement of their cleared 
transactions.\16\
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    \16\ See Exhibit J.
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    A Member that authorizes a User is responsible for guaranteeing the 
financial performance of that User beyond the margin posted to the 
User's Account at CMESC, and in this respect Members, but not Users, 
are required to make contributions to CMESC's Guaranty Fund. A person 
will be admitted as a User only with the authorization of a Member and 
may utilize the Clearing Services as a User only for so long as it has 
a Member's authorization in place. In contrast to Members, CMESC does 
not impose direct financial responsibility requirements on User 
applicants and instead relies upon Members that authorize Users to 
determine the appropriate financial responsibility standards to impose, 
based on their assessment of a User's financial circumstances and their 
obligations to conduct due diligence of their authorized Users.\17\
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    \17\ See id.
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    In Exhibit J, the Application provides information regarding 
CMESC's risk management framework, which CMESC describes as being 
intended to: (i) reduce the potential impact of a participant default 
via credit risk management standards and ongoing monitoring, and (ii) 
ensure that CMESC has sufficient financial and liquidity resources to 
manage the default of a certain number of participants. CMESC states 
that it would use onboarding requirements for each of its Members to 
mitigate counterparty risk and would apply financial responsibility 
requirements to its Members. CMESC may take action against a Member for 
its failure to remain in compliance with such requirements. 
Additionally, CMESC states that it would seek to mitigate counterparty 
and liquidity risk through various mechanisms, including its credit 
rating process for Members, credit limits, daily risk monitoring, 
margin collection, settlement variation exchange, backtesting, and 
stress testing.\18\
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    \18\ See id.
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    With respect to risk management, the Application states that CMESC 
would maintain and structure a Guaranty Fund using its stress test 
methodology that is designed to ensure that the size of the Guaranty 
Fund is at least equal to the largest theoretical loss to CMESC 
resulting from the Default of two Member Families, covering, if 
applicable, a predefined number of User accounts, in extreme but 
plausible market conditions.\19\ The Application also states that CMESC 
would establish credit and liquidity ``waterfalls'' that would apply in 
the event of a default, to prevent losses to its Participants and 
minimize the potential for market disruption.\20\
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    \19\ See id.
    \20\ See id.
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    With respect to systems, the Application states that CMESC's

[[Page 17271]]

systems will be hosted in a virtual private cloud environment and in 
physical datacenters.\21\ Among other things, the Application describes 
CMESC's approach to operational resilience, availability and disaster 
recovery, and data backup.\22\
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    \21\ See Exhibit K; Exhibit M.
    \22\ See Exhibit M.
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    With respect to fees, the Application states that CMESC continues 
to engage the marketplace on its ultimate fee structure, which it plans 
to finalize as it approaches the launch date for operating its clearing 
agency. The Application also states that cleared repo and cleared U.S. 
Treasuries services that it offers will operate in a competitive 
environment, which in turn is expected to impact fees, and that fees 
for Members and Users will be published on CMESC's website when its 
clearing services are launched after filing a proposed rule change with 
the Commission pursuant to section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Exchange Act.\23\
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    \23\ See Exhibit E-5.
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III. Proceedings To Determine Whether To Grant or Deny the Application 
and Grounds for Potential Denial Under Consideration

    To grant CMESC's request to register as a clearing agency, the 
Commission must find that the Application satisfies the requirements of 
the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, including 
the determinations set forth in paragraphs (A) through (I) of section 
17A(b)(3) of the Exchange Act.\24\ In addition, pursuant to section 17A 
of the Exchange Act, the Commission is directed, having due regard for 
the public interest, the protection of investors, the safeguarding of 
securities and funds, and maintenance of fair competition among brokers 
and dealers, clearing agencies, and transfer agents, to use its 
authority to: (i) facilitate the establishment of a national system for 
the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of transactions in 
securities (other than exempt securities); and (ii) facilitate the 
establishment of linked or coordinated facilities for clearance and 
settlement of transactions in securities in accordance with the 
findings and to carry out the objectives set forth in section 17A.\25\
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    \24\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(a); 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(b)(3). The determinations 
are described further below.
    \25\ 15 U.S.C. 78q-1(a)(2)(A).
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    To support its analysis under the above statutory directives and 
required determinations, the Commission is instituting proceedings 
pursuant to section 19(a)(1)(B) of the Exchange Act to determine 
whether to grant or deny the Application.\26\ Institution of such 
proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any 
conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved. Rather, the 
Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to comment on the 
Application and provide the Commission with arguments and data to 
support the Commission's analysis as to whether to grant or deny the 
Application.
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    \26\ 15 U.S.C. 78(s)(a)(1)(B).
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    Pursuant to section 19(a)(1)(B) of the Exchange Act,\27\ the 
Commission is providing notice of the grounds for denial under 
consideration. The Commission is instituting proceedings to allow for 
additional analysis of, and input from commenters with respect to, the 
Application's consistency with the requirements of section 17A of the 
Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder. Below the 
Commission summarizes each of the statutory findings required by 
section 17A(b)(3) of the Exchange Act and, in some instances, provides 
specific requests for comment regarding the findings as applied to the 
Application, including with respect to Commission rules that would 
apply to CMESC as a registered clearing agency.
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    \27\ Id.
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A. Section 17A(b)(3)(A): Organization and Capacity

    Section 17A(b)(3)(A) of the Exchange Act states that a clearing 
agency shall not be registered unless the Commission determines that 
such clearing agency is so organized and has the capacity to be able to 
facilitate the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of 
securities transactions and derivative agreements, contracts, and 
transactions for which it is responsible, to safeguard securities and 
funds in its custody or control or for which it is responsible, to 
comply with the provisions of the Exchange Act and the rules and 
regulations thereunder, to enforce (subject to any rule or order of the 
Commission pursuant to section 17(d) or 19(g)(2) of the Exchange Act) 
compliance by its participants with the rules of the clearing agency, 
and to carry out the purposes of this section.
    As discussed in Part 0, the Application proposes that CMESC would 
be wholly owned by its parent company, CME Group, Inc.\28\ Under this 
structure, the Application proposes that CMESC's parent company serve 
as its sole shareholder and operate as its primary service provider in 
the provision of its services as a registered clearing agency. To 
assist the Commission in determining whether CMESC is so organized and 
has the capacity to facilitate prompt and accurate clearance and 
settlement, the Commission seeks comment on whether CMESC's proposed 
legal,\29\ governance,\30\ and operational arrangements \31\ enable 
CMESC to satisfy the requirements of the Exchange Act and Commission 
rules and regulations thereunder.
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    \28\ See supra notes 12-15 and accompanying text.
    \29\ See 17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(1) (requiring a covered clearing 
agency to establish, implement, maintain and enforce written 
policies and procedures reasonably designed to provide for a well-
founded, clear, transparent, and enforceable legal basis for each 
aspect of its activities in all relevant jurisdictions).
    \30\ See, e.g., 17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(2) (requiring a covered 
clearing agency to establish, implement, maintain and enforce 
written policies and procedures reasonably designed to provide for 
governance arrangements that, among other things: are clear and 
transparent; clearly prioritize the safety and efficiency of the 
covered clearing agency; support the public interest requirements in 
Section 17A of the Exchange Act applicable to clearing agencies, and 
the objectives of owners and participants; establish that the board 
of directors and senior management have appropriate experience and 
skills to discharge their duties and responsibilities; specify clear 
and direct lines of responsibility; and consider the interests of 
participants' customers, securities issuers and holders, and other 
relevant stakeholders of the covered clearing agency); 240.17ad-
25(b) (establishing requirements related to the composition of the 
board of directors); 240.17ad-25(i) (establishing requirements 
related to the management of risks from relationships with service 
providers for core services).
    \31\ See, e.g., 17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(17) (requiring a covered 
clearing agency to establish, implement, maintain and enforce 
written policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage the 
covered clearing agency's operational risks by: identifying the 
plausible sources of operational risk, both internal and external, 
and mitigating their impact through the use of appropriate systems, 
policies, procedures, and controls; ensuring that systems have a 
high degree of security, resiliency, operational reliability, and 
adequate, scalable capacity; and establishing and maintaining a 
business continuity plan that addresses events posing a significant 
risk of disrupting operations).
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B. Section 17A(b)(3)(B): Membership Standards

    Section 17A(b)(3)(B) of the Exchange Act states that a clearing 
agency shall not be registered unless the Commission determines that 
the rules of the clearing agency provide that any (i) registered broker 
or dealer, (ii) other registered clearing agency, (iii) registered 
investment company, (iv) bank, (v) insurance company, or (vi) other 
person or class of persons as the Commission, by rule, may from time to 
time designate as appropriate to the development of a national system 
or the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of securities 
transactions may become a participant in such clearing agency.\32\
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    \32\ Section 17A(b)(3)(B) of the Exchange Act also states that 
the rules of the clearing agency are subject to the provisions of 
Section 17A(b)(4) of the Exchange Act.

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[[Page 17272]]

    As discussed in Part 0,\33\ the Application proposes a novel 
structure with two types of participants, Members and Users. Members 
would be able to clear proprietary Eligible Securities Transactions 
through CMESC and to authorize Users with respect to clearing Eligible 
Securities Transactions through CMESC, and Users would be authorized by 
a Member and would be further classified as Independent Users or 
Supported Users.\34\ The Application also describes how this structure 
affects its framework for managing financial risk.\35\ To assist the 
Commission in determining whether the Application establishes 
membership requirements consistent with the above statutory standard, 
the Commission seeks comment as to whether the Application proposes a 
sufficient level of surveillance and monitoring by CMESC of the risks 
posed by its Members and the two types of Users such that, the 
Application has policies and procedures that establish objective, risk-
based, and publicly disclosed criteria for participation and which 
require participants to have sufficient financial resources and robust 
operational capacity.\36\
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    \33\ See supra notes 16-20 and accompanying text.
    \34\ See supra note 16 and accompanying text.
    \35\ See supra notes 18-20.
    \36\ See, e.g., 17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(18) (requiring a covered 
clearing agency to establish, implement, maintain and enforce 
written policies and procedures reasonably designed to establish 
objective, risk-based, and publicly disclosed criteria for 
participation, which permit fair and open access by direct and, 
where relevant, indirect participants; require participants to have 
sufficient financial resources and robust operational capacity to 
meet obligations arising from participation in the clearing agency; 
monitor compliance with such participation requirements on an 
ongoing basis; and, when the covered clearing agency provides 
central counterparty services for transactions in U.S. Treasury 
securities, ensure, among other things, that it has appropriate 
means to facilitate access to clearance and settlement services of 
all eligible secondary market transactions in U.S. Treasury 
securities, including those of indirect participants); 240.17ad-
22(e)(19) (requiring a covered clearing agency to establish, 
implement, maintain and enforce written policies and procedures 
reasonably designed to identify, monitor, and manage the material 
risks to the covered clearing agency arising from arrangements in 
which firms that are indirect participants in the covered clearing 
agency rely on the services provided by direct participants to 
access the covered clearing agency's payment, clearing, or 
settlement facilities).
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C. Section 17A(b)(3)(C): Fair Representation

    Section 17A(b)(3)(C) of the Exchange Act states that a clearing 
agency shall not be registered unless the Commission determines that 
the rules of the clearing agency assure a fair representation of its 
shareholders (or members) and participants in the selection of its 
directors and administration of its affairs.\37\
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    \37\ Section 17A(b)(3)(C) of the Exchange Act also states that 
the Commission may determine that the representation of participants 
is fair if they are afforded a reasonable opportunity to acquire 
voting stock of the clearing agency, directly or indirectly, in 
reasonable proportion to their use of such clearing agency.
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    To assist the Commission in evaluating whether the Application is 
consistent with the above standard for fair representation, the 
Commission seeks comment on whether CMESC's proposed governance 
arrangements are designed to (i) facilitate adequate oversight by the 
board of CMESC's operations,\38\ (ii) mitigate conflicts of 
interest,\39\ and (iii) solicit the views of clearing members and other 
relevant stakeholders.\40\
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    \38\ See, e.g., 17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(2); 240.17ad-25(b) 
(establishing requirements for the composition of the board of 
directors); 240.17ad-25(i) (establishing requirements for the 
management of risks from relationships with service providers for 
core services).
    \39\ See, e.g., 17 CFR 240.17ad-25(g) (establishing requirements 
related to conflicts of interest); 240.17ad-25(h) (establishing 
requirements regarding the obligation of directors to report 
conflicts).
    \40\ See, e.g., 17 CFR 240.17ad-22(e)(2)(iii) and (vi); 
240.17ad-25(j).
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D. Section 17A(b)(3)(D) and (E): Fees

    Section 17A(b)(3)(D) of the Exchange Act states that a clearing 
agency shall not be registered unless the Commission determines that 
the rules of the clearing agency provide for the equitable allocation 
of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its participants. 
Section 17A(b)(3)(E) of the Exchange Act states that a clearing agency 
shall not be registered unless the rules of the clearing agency do not 
impose any schedule of prices, or fix rates or other fees, for services 
rendered by its participants.
    As discussed in Part 0, CMESC's Application does not include a fee 
schedule or schedule of prices, stating that CMESC continues to engage 
the marketplace on its ultimate fee structure, and that fees for 
Members and Users will be published on CMESC's website when its 
clearing services are launched after filing a proposed rule change with 
the Commission pursuant to section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Exchange Act.\41\
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    \41\ See supra note 23 and accompanying text.
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    1. What information could CMESC provide that would help the 
Commission evaluate whether its fees are equitably allocated and 
reasonable, consistent with the findings required by Section 
17A(b)(3)(D)?

E. Section 17A(b)(3)(F): Rules Designed To Promote Prompt and Accurate 
Clearance and Settlement and the Safeguarding of Securities and Funds

    Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Exchange Act states that a clearing 
agency shall not be registered unless the Commission determines that 
the rules of the clearing agency are designed to promote the prompt and 
accurate clearance and settlement of securities transactions and, to 
the extent applicable, derivative agreements, contracts, and 
transactions, to assure the safeguarding of securities and funds which 
are in the custody or control of the clearing agency or for which it is 
responsible, to foster cooperation and coordination with persons 
engaged in the clearance and settlement of securities transactions, to 
remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a national system 
for the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of securities 
transactions, and, in general, to protect investors and the public 
interest. It also states that a clearing agency shall not be registered 
unless the Commission determines that the rules are not designed to 
permit unfair discrimination in the admission of participants or among 
participants in the use of the clearing agency, or to regulate by 
virtue of any authority conferred by the Exchange Act matters not 
related to the purposes of this section or the administration of the 
clearing agency.
    1. The Application describes CMESC's risk management practices, 
including, for example, its system for margin collection, risk 
surveillance, and the rules pursuant to which CMESC would manage the 
default of multiple participants, including both Members and Users. Do 
the rules lay out in sufficient detail CMESC's risk management 
practices, including the process by which CMESC would liquidate the 
portfolios of multiple Members and Users and how it would replenish 
financial resources after doing so?
    2. In its Application, CMESC proposes to apply at least a two-day 
margin period of risk (``MPOR'') to liquidate the portfolio of a 
defaulting participant. In the market for U.S. Treasury securities, is 
it reasonable for CMESC to assume, when calculating and collecting 
margin, that it could liquidate the portfolio of a defaulting 
participant, or multiple defaulting participants, within two days? What 
are the significant factors and circumstances that would assist the 
Commission in assessing whether a two-day MPOR is appropriate as 
described in the Application? Please explain.

[[Page 17273]]

F. Section 17A(b)(3)(G) and (H): Participant Discipline

    Section 17A(b)(3)(G) of the Exchange Act states that a clearing 
agency shall not be registered unless the Commission determines that 
the rules of the clearing agency provide that (subject to any rule or 
order of the Commission pursuant to section 17(d) or 19(g)(2) of the 
Exchange Act) its participants shall be appropriately disciplined for 
violation of any provision of the rules of the clearing agency by 
expulsion, suspension, limitation of activities, functions, and 
operations, fine, censure, or any other fitting sanction. Section 
17A(b)(3)(H) of the Exchange Act states that a clearing agency shall 
not be registered unless the Commission determines that the rules of 
the clearing agency, in general, provide a fair procedure with respect 
to the disciplining of participants, the denial of participation to any 
persons seeking participation therein, and the prohibition or 
limitation by the clearing agency of any person with respect to access 
to services offered by the clearing agency.\42\
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    \42\ Section 17A(b)(3)(H) of the Exchange Act also states that 
the rules of the clearing agency be in accordance with the 
provisions of Section 17A(b)(5) of the Exchange Act.
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    The Commission seeks comment as to whether CMESC's rules regarding 
a cease-to-act decision provide a fair procedure with respect to a 
participant for whom CMESC would cease to act and its affected 
counterparties.

G. Section 17A(b)(3)(I): Competition

    Section 17A(b)(3)(I) of the Exchange Act states that a clearing 
agency shall not be registered unless the Commission determines that 
the rules of the clearing agency do not impose any burden on 
competition not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes 
of the Exchange Act. The Commission seeks comment as to whether CMESC's 
application is consistent with the statutory standard in Section 
17A(b)(3)(I) of the Exchange Act.

IV. Request for Written Comment

    The Commission requests that interested persons provide written 
views and data with respect to CMESC's Application and the questions 
included above or other relevant issues. Comments may be submitted by 
any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/other.shtml); or
     Send an email to [email protected]. Please include 
File Number 600-44 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities 
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number 600-44. This file number 
should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help the 
Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please 
use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the 
Commission's internet website (http://www.sec.gov/rules/other.shtml). 
Copies of the Form CA-1, all subsequent amendments, all written 
statements with respect to the Form CA-1 that are filed with the 
Commission, and all written communications relating to the Form CA-1 
between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be 
withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 
552, will be available for website viewing and printing in the 
Commission's Public Reference Section, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 
20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 
p.m. Do not include personal identifiable information in submissions; 
you should submit only information that you wish to make available 
publicly. We may redact in part or withhold entirely from publication 
submitted material that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. 
All submissions should refer to File Number 600-44 and should be 
submitted on or before May 15, 2025.

    By the Commission.
Stephanie Fouse,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-07033 Filed 4-23-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P