CFTC issues final rule on reporting regulations for futures and options

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved final rules to amend its large trading reporting regulations for futures and options.

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The regulations require futures commission merchants, clearing members, foreign brokers, and certain reporting markets to report to the CFTC position information for the largest futures and options traders.

The new final rules replace the data elements currently enumerated in the CFTC’s regulations with an appendix specifying applicable data elements. The final rules also provide for the publication of a separate Part 17 Guidebook specifying the form and manner for reporting.

Further, the final rules remove the 80-character data submission standard in the CFTC’s regulations, replacing it with a FIXML standard, as outlined in the Part 17 Guidebook.

“These amendments will modernize the CFTC’s large trader position reporting and align it with other reporting structures set out in the CFTC’s regulations,” Vince McGonagle, director of the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight.

The final rules are effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Reporting firms must comply with the final rules two years after they are published in the Federal Register.

The mission of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is to promote the integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of the U.S. derivatives markets through sound regulation.