FinTech Five

1. CFTC Staff Issues Advisory on Self-Certification of Event Contracts

On July 24, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight (Staff) issued an advisory (Staff Advisory) reminding designated contract markets (DCMs) of the proper procedures in connection with the submission of self-certifications of event contract series. Staff noted in the Staff Advisory that it has observed DCMs improperly self-certifying broad, template event contracts that bundle multiple contract permutations with differing settlement sources or methodologies into a single § 40.2(a) certification, which impairs Staff’s ability to assess whether each permutation satisfies Regulation § 40.2’s disclosure requirements and core-principles compliance and also limits market participants’ access to that information. In place of broad, template-based certifications, Staff directs DCMs to certify event contract series either as a class under § 40.2(d) or for approval under § 40.3. A §