On January 15, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight (DMO) issued CFTC letter 16-03 (“Letter”) providing a conditional, time-limited extension of the relief provided in CFTC Letter 13-41, issued on June 28, 2013, regarding the masking of certain identifying information required to be reported in connection with swaps required to be reported to a swaps data repository. The CFTC had previously authorized the masking of certain identifying information in response to concerns by expressed by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc., on behalf of its members, regarding potential inconsistencies between CFTC requirements and privacy and blocking laws of certain foreign jurisdictions. The Letter, permits, among other things, (1) adding jurisdictions that may be eligible for relief as foreign jurisdictions, and (2) reporting parties who previously met the conditions in CFTC Letter 13-41, or who will meet those conditions in the future, to fulfill their reporting obligations while acknowledging privacy, secrecy and blocking laws in the relevant foreign jurisdictions.

DMO’s new relief will be available until the earlier of the date the reporting party no longer maintains the requisite reasonable belief regarding the privacy law consequences of reporting or 12:01 a.m. (EST) on March 1, 2017.

To see the Letter, click here.