2022-10490: Clearing Requirement Determination Under Section 2(h) of the Commodity Exchange Act for Interest Rate Swaps To Account for the Transition From LIBOR and Other IBORs to Alternative Reference Rates

Summary

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is proposing to amend its interest rate swap clearing requirement regulations adopted under applicable provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) in light of the global transition from reliance on certain interbank offered rates (IBORs) (e.g., the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)) that have been, or will be, discontinued as benchmark reference rates to alternative reference rates, which are predominantly overnight, nearly risk-free reference rates (RFRs). The proposed amendments would revise the set of interest rate swaps that are required to be submitted for clearing pursuant to the CEA and the Commission's regulations to a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) that is registered under the CEA (registered DCO) or a DCO that has been exempted from registration under the CEA (exempt DCO). Among other things, the proposed amendments would modify the Commission's interest rate swap clearing requirement to reflect the market shift away from swaps that reference IBORs to swaps that reference RFRs.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 1 part of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 17 CFR 50 Clearing Requirement and Related Rules