In its budget request for fiscal year 2018, the CFTC outlined an increasingly muscular enforcement effort, stating that, “the Commission will utilize its enforcement resources to continue preserving market integrity[.]” This 2017 request, however, also foreshadowed a new enforcement initiative for 2018, one focused on:
“Increasing effectiveness and efficiency of enforcement through cooperative enforcement with SROs, state, Federal, and international authorities, including achieving efficiencies through referrals[.]”
The fruits of this “cooperative enforcement” initiative became evident in the last three weeks of the CFTC’s 2018 fiscal year. In what has become a familiar pattern with other federal regulators, the close of the fiscal year is preceded by the announcement and resolution of numerous enforcement actions. What was especially noteworthy this year, however, was the number of CFTC enforcement actions that were marked by nearly-simultaneous settlements with self-regulatory organizations, such as the National Futures Association, the self-regulatory organization for the commodity derivatives industry, and CME Group, a global operator of commodity futures and options exchanges.
To read more about these recent settlements and the implications for private fund managers, click here.