The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced today that it will keep the swap dealer de minimis threshold at $8 billion through Dec. 31, 2019, following a commitment by CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo earlier this month to do so. The threshold had been scheduled to drop to $3 billion at the end of 2018. The CFTC said that it plans to take further action regarding the de minimis threshold prior to the end of 2019.
The American Bankers Association has strongly advocated for maintaining or raising the de minimis threshold, noting that lowering it could limit the ability of many commercial end users to access the swaps market in order to manage risk responsibly. The association will continue to engage with the CFTC as it considers further action. For more information, contact ABA’s Ananda Radhakrishnan.
