In a comment letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission today, ABA urged the agency not to move forward with a proposal that would prohibit “post-trade name give-up” practices for swaps that are anonymously executed on a swaps execution facility and are intended to be cleared. Employed by certain SEFs, PTNGU practices involve disclosing or causing the disclosure of the identity of each swap counterparty after a transaction has been matched anonymously and submitted for clearing.
As proposed, the rule would prohibit a SEF from directly or indirectly—including through a third-party service provider—disclosing the identity of a counterparty to a swap that is executed anonymously. It would also require SEFs to establish and enforce rules that prohibit any person from making such a disclosure.
ABA raised serious concerns that “prohibiting PTNGU will risk irreparable harm” to the swaps market, adding that there is “no compelling justification” for doing so. In addition, the association noted that the proposal directly conflicts with “Congress’ expressed intention for SEDFs to be able to offer flexible methods of execution through any means of interstate commerce.”
