On October 1, 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) Chairman, J. Christopher Giancarlo released a White Paper entitled, “Cross-Border Swaps Regulation Version 2.0: A Risk-Based Approach with Deference to Comparable Non-U.S. Regulation” (“Cross-Border White Paper 2.0”). Chairman Giancarlo intends to direct the CFTC staff to put forth new rule proposals, which if adopted, would put in place an alternative cross-border framework that would replace the cross-border guidance issued by the CFTC in…

In a decision issued on July 7, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated revisions to the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) Minimum Offer Price Rule (“MOPR”) that had been proposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) in response to a filing submitted by PJM pursuant to section 205 of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”). In relevant part, PJM’s proposal sought to eliminate the existing unit specific review exemption of the…

A former futures trader recently agreed to a settlement order from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) imposing a permanent trading ban for spoofing and manipulation, and pled guilty to criminal charges of manipulation and wire fraud, for trading done in the precious metals market. David Liew was a trader on a major financial institution’s precious metals desk from December 2009 to February 2012 and, according to certain news reports, was based in…

In a unanimous decision, the United States Supreme Court has reined in the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to recover ill-gotten gains, holding that the five-year statute of limitations period applicable to SEC enforcement actions extends to disgorgement. In Kokesh v. SEC, No. 16-529 (June 5, 2017), the Court found that any claim for disgorgement in an SEC enforcement action must be commenced within the five-year time limit for civil penalty enforcement…

On May 22, 2017, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) amended Part 165 of its regulations, which govern whistleblower incentives and protections. In addition to strengthening existing anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers, the amendments also prohibit employers from restricting employees from reporting potential violations of the Commodity Exchange Act directly to the CFTC. This prohibition extends to the enforcement or threatened enforcement of confidentiality agreements and pre-dispute arbitration agreements to prevent employee communication directly with the…

On May 10, 2016, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued a notice of proposed amendment to its 2013 order exempting specified electric energy transactions in certain Regional Transmission Organizations (“RTOs”), Independent System Operators (“ISOs”) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (“ERCOT”) from regulation under certain provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) and the CFTC’s regulations thereunder (the “RTO-ISO Order”). Scope of the RTO-ISO Order The RTO-ISO Order exempts from…

Register now Please join us, in collaboration with Cornerstone Research and KPMG, as we discuss assessing risks in the global energy trading environment. This all-day conference will present a unique opportunity for energy companies, trading houses, and financial institutions to hear from top leaders in government and key industry sectors. Invited speakers include: senior officials of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) representatives from the CME Group, Argus Media, and…