Joint Trades on Real-Time Public Reporting Requirements (Block Thresholds)
Summary
SIFMA and ISDA provided comments to the CFTC on the proposed revisions to the real-time public reporting requirements published in the Federal Register by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on April 17, 2020.
We strongly support the Commission’s efforts to recalibrate its reporting framework with a view towards streamlining and improving the CFTC’s reporting regime.
Excerpt
Mr. Christopher Kirkpatrick
Secretary
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20581
Re: Real-Time Public Reporting Requirements (RIN 3038-AE60)
Dear Mr. Kirkpatrick:
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”)1 and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”)2 (collectively, the “Associations”) appreciate the opportunity to submit these comments on the proposed revisions to the real-time public reporting requirements published in the Federal Register by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) on April 17, 2020 (“Proposal”).3 We strongly support the Commission’s efforts to recalibrate its reporting framework with a view towards streamlining and improving the CFTC’s reporting regime.
As a preliminary matter, we emphasize that our primary motivation in submitting a separate comment letter on the proposed block thresholds is to address our serious concerns related to the proposed block size methodology that we believe, if not remedied in the final rule, will have a significant adverse effect on the overall liquidity of the U.S. swaps market.
For the past seven years, since the initial publication of the block thresholds, we have consistently argued that incorrectly set block sizes will have an irreversible impact on the ability of virtually every market participant, including end-users, such as insurance companies, pension funds and mutual funds, to efficiently execute a large-sized swap transaction, unnecessarily impeding their ability to hedge risk through swaps—the essential function of a derivatives market. Congress understood the importance of setting appropriate block thresholds. The Dodd Frank Act explicitly directed the Commission to balance the goal of providing price discovery against protecting market liquidity when determining block sizes.4 Unfortunately, the proposed block thresholds do not comply with this Congressional mandate.