In response to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s notice of intent to extend information collection on certain swap transactions, ABA urged the commission to amend the pertinent regulation. At issue is an annual reporting requirement for banks engaging in swap transactions that qualify for an exemption to the CFTC’s swaps clearing requirement. The duration of these swaps is typically five to ten years, and most commercial end-user clients do not change their election of the end user exemption during the life of the swap. In a comment letter sent today to the CFTC, ABA pointed out that that the annual reporting requirement is therefore costly, inefficient and redundant.
ABA holds that the CFTC could achieve its objective with less cost through a requirement to make an initial report, and a further report only if there has been a material change in circumstances.