CFTC Staff Extends Relief For FCM Separate Accounts

The CFTC Division of Clearing and Risk and the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (the "Divisions") issued an extension of no-action relief with respect to the treatment of separate accounts by futures commission merchants ("FCMs").

As previously covered, CFTC Letter 19-17 provided guidance for the rules relating to the treatment of separate accounts of the same customer, a beneficial owner. Letter 19-17 provided no-action relief through June 30, 2021, which relief was later extended by a CFTC staff statement to September 15, 2021. Subsequently, in Letter 20-28, the Divisions provided a further extension of the no-action relief until December 31, 2021.

In response to a request from the Futures Industry Association, the Divisions extended the relief with respect to Regulation 39.13(g)(8)(iii) ("Withdrawal of customer initial margin") until September 30, 2022. The Divisions noted that the extension was appropriate to provide the CFTC further time