Federal Register: CFTC Requests Comments On Proposal To "Modernize" Recordkeeping Requirements

The CFTC requested comment on a proposal to modernize certain recordkeeping obligations. The proposal would remove a requirement that electronic records be kept in their original format, and would allow recordkeepers to reduce costs associated with paper records through the utilization of "advances in information technology." The request for comments was published in the Federal Register.

Comments on the proposed amendments must be submitted by March 20, 2017.

Commentary / Steven Lofchie

The rule proposal would provide welcome updates to the requirements for the storage of electronic records under CFTC Rule 1.31. Significantly, the proposal would eliminate many of the prescriptive requirements of the current rule, including the need for firms to use outdated "write once, read many" (or "WORM") storage media. Instead, the proposed new rule would adopt a technology-neutral requirement that electronic records be maintained in ways that preserved