CFTC Commissioner Floats Enforcement Reforms
In a speech CFTC Commissioner Summer K Mersinger discusses the need for reform of the CFTC’s approach to enforcement.
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This week the US CFTC issued a USD $150,000 fine for a breach of Federal position limits in Platinum futures. This is the first enforcement case involving so-called Dodd-Frank position limits since they became live in early 2022.
Commissioner Pham from the CFTC released this statement supporting the action. Federal Position Limits have been a controversial topic in the US taking around 10 years from inception to implementation. The fact that it has taken the CFTC almost one and a half years since go live to enforce may be telling, although further enforcement, now that the seal is broken, seems likely.
RegTrail Insights
Firms are reminded that Federal Position limits under Dodd-Frank are not limited to the 25 core contracts alone – they extend to any contract that references the core contract (so-called “linked” contracts).
While the number of core contracts is unlikely to change any time soon, the number of linked contracts can and will change as new products are released into the market. Unlike exchange-set position limits, some Federal position limits also cut across exchanges where, for example, the core contract is traded on the CME but linked contracts are traded on ICE.
Firms that trade in either core or linked contracts that are subject to Federal position limits should ensure that appropriate exemptions are in place and, in cases of high levels of activity, should actively monitor their positions against these limits.
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