View Rule

The Commission proposed regulations to impose ownership and voting limits and governance arrangements applicable to security-based swap clearing agencies and security-based swap execution facilities to mitigate potential conflicts of interest that could exist to those entities. The Commission separately proposed seven new rules and an amendment to an existing rule related to clearing agencies, including clearing agencies that clear security-based swaps.  The proposed rules were designed to enhance the regulatory framework for the supervision of clearing agencies.  The Commission adopted some of the proposed rules in RIN 3235-AL13 on November 2, 2012 and merged the remaining proposals into this rulemaking.

The remaining rules in RIN 3235-AL13 proposed to: (1) require dissemination of pricing and valuation information by security-based swap clearing agencies that perform central counterparty services; (2) require all clearing agencies to have adequate safeguards and procedures to protect the confidentiality of trading information of clearing agency participants; (3) exempt certain security-based swap dealers and security-based swap execution facilities from the definition of a clearing agency; (4) amend rules concerning registration of clearing agencies to account for security-based swap clearing agencies and to make other technical changes; (5) require all clearing agencies to have procedures that identify and address conflicts of interest; (6) require minimum standards for all members of clearing agency boards of directors or committees; and (7) require all clearing agencies to designate a chief compliance officer.

The Division is now considering recommending that the Commission adopt one of those remaining rules: Rule 17Ad-24 pursuant to Section 36 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act”) to exempt from the definition of clearing agency” in Section 3(a)(23) of the Exchange Act certain activities of security-based swap dealers and security-based swap execution facilities.

Overall Description of Deadline: Pub. L. 111-203, sec. 765. The Dodd-Frank Act requires the Commission to adopt rules to mitigate conflicts of interest for security-based swap clearing agencies, security-based swap execution facilities, and security-based swap exchanges.