On August 13, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that they had published an advance joint notice of proposed rulemaking that requests public comment to assist the agencies in further defining certain key terms and prescribing regulations regarding “mixed swaps” as required by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Title VII provides for the comprehensive regulation of swaps and security-based swaps and includes definitions of key terms relating to such regulation. It requires the CFTC and the SEC, in consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, to jointly further define the terms “swap,” “security-based swap,” “swap dealer,” “security-based swap dealer,” “major swap participant,” “major security-based swap participant,” “eligible contract participant” and “security-based swap agreement.”
Title VII also requires the CFTC and SEC to jointly prescribe regulations regarding “mixed swaps” as necessary to carry out the purposes of Title VII.
The CFTC and SEC invite public comment with respect to all aspects of the statutory definitions of these key terms. The agencies also invite commenters to express views on the regulation of “mixed swaps.”
This request for comment is in addition to the series of email links on the CFTC’s and SEC’s websites to facilitate public comment regarding regulatory reform rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Act.
The public comment period will remain open for 30 days following publication of the advance notice in the Federal Register. Commenters are urged to submit comments as soon as possible within the 30-day comment period.