On May 1, 2012, the CFTC voted to issue a Proposed Interpretative Statement regarding the confidentiality and indemnification provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act. The proposed statement is aimed at ensuring that foreign regulators have access to data in Swap Data Repositories (SDRs). Currently, Dodd-Frank requires any regulator—domestic or foreign—seeking access to data in an SDR to agree in writing to abide by certain confidentiality and indemnification requirements. Recognizing the difficulties foreign regulators may have complying with the rule and the importance of SDR data to foreign regulatory schemes, the CFTC determined that it would be unreasonable to apply the confidentiality and indemnification provisions to foreign regulators. Accordingly, the CFTC proposes to interpret CEA Section 21(d) such that its provisions do not apply to SDR data sought by foreign regulators when the SDR is also registered, recognized, or otherwise authorized in the foreign jurisdiction’s regulatory regime and the data has been reported to a registered SDR pursuant to the foreign jurisdiction’s regulatory regime. The CFTC is committed to a cooperative international approach to the registration and regulation of SDRs and intends to continue cooperating with foreign regulators in finalizing related rules.

Public comment will extend for 30 days from the date of publication of the proposed statement in the Federal Register.