The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight previously issued no-action letters to foreign boards of trade (FBOTs), pursuant to which FBOTs that list futures and options for trading are permitted to grant electronic access to exchange members or participants located in the United States. As provided in CFTC Letter No. 13-46, FBOTs are now able to provide direct access for swaps that are listed for trading on an FBOT, subject to certain requirements, including the following:  (i) the FBOT must ensure that each such swap is centrally cleared (but the clearinghouse does not need to be registered with the CFTC as a derivatives clearing organization); (ii) the FBOT must satisfy certain swap data reporting obligations; and (iii) the FBOT must report volume data for each swap on a quarterly basis. The relief granted by CFTC Letter No. 13-46 becomes unnecessary and expires if an FBOT registers with the CFTC pursuant to Part 48 of the CFTC Regulations.

CFTC Letter No. 13-46 is available here.