CFTC Proposes Amendments To Recordkeeping Requirements

On January 12, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") unanimously approved the proposal of numerous amendments to CFTC Regulation 1.31, the regulation that sets forth the recordkeeping requirements for records required to be kept under the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act (the "Act") and the CFTC's regulations, including with respect to swaps.¹  The proposed amendments are largely intended to modernize and make technology-neutral the form and manner in which regulatory records are kept.²

The last major revision of Regulation 1.31 was made in 1999, when records were largely kept in paper form and before the prevalence of advanced electronic information systems.³  Through the proposed amendments, the CFTC intends to update, reorganize and, effectively, re-write Regulation 1.31, while maintaining its ability to examine and inspect required records.⁴