17 C.F.R. § 1.3
Words used in the singular form in the rules and regulations in this chapter shall be deemed to import the plural and vice versa, as the context may require. The following terms, as used in the Commodity Exchange Act, or in the rules and regulations in this chapter, shall have the meanings hereby assigned to them, unless the context otherwise requires:
(d) Clearing organization or derivatives clearing organization. This term means a clearinghouse, clearing association, clearing corporation, or similar entity, facility, system, or organization that, with respect to an agreement, contract, or transaction -
(4) Exclusions. The terms clearing organization and derivatives clearing organization do not include an entity, facility, system, or organization solely because it arranges or provides for -
(m) Eligible contract participant. This term has the meaning set forth in Section 1a(18) of the Act, except that:
(5)
(7)
(ii)
(C) In determining whether an owner of an entity is an eligible contract participant for purposes of paragraph (m)(7)(i) of this section, an individual may be considered to be a proprietorship eligible contract participant only if the individual -
(1) Has an active role in operating a business other than an entity;
(2) Directly owns all of the assets of the business;
(3) Directly is responsible for all of the liabilities of the business; and
(4) Acquires its interest in the entity seeking to qualify as an eligible contract participant under paragraph (m)(7)(i) of this section in connection with the operation of the individual's proprietorship or to manage the risk associated with an asset or liability owned or incurred or reasonably likely to be owned or incurred by the individual in the operation of the individual's proprietorship; and
(8) Notwithstanding Section 1a(18)(A)(iv) of the Act and paragraph (m)(5) of this section, a commodity pool that enters into an agreement, contract, or transaction described in Section 2(c)(2)(B)(i) or Section 2(c)(2)(C)(i)(I) of the Act is an eligible contract participant with respect to such agreement, contract, or transaction, regardless of whether each participant in such commodity pool is an eligible contract participant, if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(n) Floor broker. This term means any person:
(1) Who, in or surrounding any pit, ring, post or other place provided by a contract market for the meeting of persons similarly engaged, shall purchase or sell for any other person -
(p) Futures commission merchant. This term means:
(1) Any individual, association, partnership, corporation, or trust -
(q) Member. This term means:
(1) An individual, association, partnership, corporation, or trust -
(r) Net equity.
(s) Net deficit.
(t) Open contracts. This term means:
(x) Floor trader. This term means any person:
(1) Who, in or surrounding any pit, ring, post or other place provided by a contract market for the meeting of persons similarly engaged, purchases, or sells solely for such person's own account -
(y) Proprietary account. This term means a commodity futures, commodity option, or swap trading account carried on the books and records of an individual, a partnership, corporation or other type of association:
(2) Of which ten percent or more is owned by one of the following persons, or an aggregate of ten percent or more of which is owned by more than one of the following persons:
(iii) In the case of a limited partnership, a limited or special partner in such partnership whose duties include:
(v) An employee of such individual, partnership, corporation or association whose duties include:
(z) Bona fide hedging transactions and positions for excluded commodities - (1) General definition. Bona fide hedging transactions and positions shall mean any agreement, contract or transaction in an excluded commodity on a designated contract market or swap execution facility that is a trading facility, where such transactions or positions normally represent a substitute for transactions to be made or positions to be taken at a later time in a physical marketing channel, and where they are economically appropriate to the reduction of risks in the conduct and management of a commercial enterprise, and where they arise from:
(2) Enumerated hedging transactions. The definitions of bona fide hedging transactions and positions in paragraph (z)(1) of this section includes, but is not limited to, the following specific transactions and positions:
(i) Sales of any agreement, contract, or transaction in an excluded commodity on a designated contract market or swap execution facility that is a trading facility which do not exceed in quantity:
(ii) Purchases of any agreement, contract or transaction in an excluded commodity on a designated contract market or swap execution facility that is a trading facility which do not exceed in quantity:
(aa) Associated person. This term means any natural person who is associated in any of the following capacities with:
(5) A leverage transaction merchant as a partner, officer, employee, consultant, or agent (or any natural person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions), in any capacity which involves:
(6) A swap dealer or major swap participant as a partner, officer, employee, agent (or any natural person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions), in any capacity that involves:
(bb)
(1) Commodity trading advisor. This term means any person who, for compensation or profit, engages in the business of advising others, either directly or through publications, writings or electronic media, as to the value of or the advisability of trading in any contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery, security futures product, or swap; any agreement, contract or transaction described in section 2(c)(2)(C)(i) or section 2(c)(2)(D)(i) of the Act; any commodity option authorized under section 4c of the Act; any leverage transaction authorized under section 19 of the Act; any person registered with the Commission as a commodity trading advisor; or any person, who, for compensation or profit, and as part of a regular business, issues or promulgates analyses or reports concerning any of the foregoing. The term does not include:
(vii) Such other persons not within the intent of this definition as the Commission may specify by rule, regulation or order: Provided, That the furnishing of such services by the foregoing persons is solely incidental to the conduct of their business or profession:
Provided further, That the Commission, by rule or regulation, may include within this definition, any person advising as to the value of commodities or issuing reports or analyses concerning commodities, if the Commission determines that such rule or regulation will effectuate the purposes of this provision.
(2) Client. This term, as it relates to a commodity trading advisor, means any person:
(ff) Designated self-regulatory organization. This term means:
(1) Any person who, for compensation or profit, whether direct or indirect:
(2) The term introducing broker shall not include:
(rr) Foreign futures or foreign options secured amount. This term means all money, securities and property received by a futures commission merchant from, for, or on behalf of 30.7 customers as defined in § 30.1 of this chapter:
(yy) Commodity interest. This term means:
(zz) Agricultural commodity. This term means:
(ggg) Swap Dealer - (1) In general.The term swap dealer means any person who:
(B) Utility Special Entities. (1) Solely for purposes of determining whether a person's swap dealing activity has exceeded the $25 million aggregate gross notional amount threshold set forth in paragraph (ggg)(4)(i)(A) of this section for swaps in which the counterparty is a special entity, a person may exclude “utility operations-related swaps” in which the counterparty is a “utility special entity.”
(2) For purposes of this paragraph (4)(i)(B), a “utility special entity” is a special entity, as that term is defined in Section 4s(h)(2)(C) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 6s(h)(2)(C), and § 23.401(c) of this chapter, that:
(i) Owns or operates electric or natural gas facilities, electric or natural gas operations or anticipated electric or natural gas facilities or operations;
(ii) Supplies natural gas or electric energy to other utility special entities;
(iii) Has public service obligations or anticipated public service obligations under Federal, State or local law or regulation to deliver electric energy or natural gas service to utility customers; or
(iv) Is a Federal power marketing agency as defined in Section 3 of the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 796(19).
(3) For purposes of this paragraph (ggg)(4)(i)(B), a “utility operations-related swap” is a swap that meets the following conditions:
(i) A party to the swap is a utility special entity;
(ii) A utility special entity is using the swap to hedge or mitigate commercial risk as defined in § 50.50(c) of this chapter;
(iii) The swap is related to an exempt commodity, as that term is defined in Section 1a(20) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 1a(20), or to an agricultural commodity insofar as such agricultural commodity is used for fuel for generation of electricity or is otherwise used in the normal operations of the utility special entity; and
(iv) The swap is an electric energy or natural gas swap, or the swap is associated with: The generation, production, purchase or sale of natural gas or electric energy, the supply of natural gas or electric energy to a utility special entity, or the delivery of natural gas or electric energy service to customers of a utility special entity; fuel supply for the facilities or operations of a utility special entity; compliance with an electric system reliability obligation; or compliance with an energy, energy efficiency, conservation, or renewable energy or environmental statute, regulation, or government order applicable to a utility special entity.
(4) A person seeking to rely on the exclusion in paragraph (ggg)(4)(i)(B)(1) of this section may rely on the written representations of the utility special entity that it is a utility special entity and that the swap is a utility operations-related swap, as such terms are defined in paragraphs (ggg)(4)(i)(B)(2) and (3) of this section, respectively, unless it has information that would cause a reasonable person to question the accuracy of the representation. The person must keep such representation in accordance with § 1.31.
(C) Nine months after publication of the report required by paragraph (ggg)(4)(ii)(B) of this section, and after giving due consideration to that report and any associated public comment, the Commission may either:
(1) Terminate the phase-in period set forth in paragraph (ggg)(4)(ii)(A) of this section, in which case the phase-in termination date shall be established by the Commission by order published in the Federal Register; or
(2) Determine that it is necessary or appropriate in the public interest to propose through rulemaking an alternative to the $3 billion amount set forth in paragraph (ggg)(4)(i) of this section that would constitute a de minimis quantity of swap dealing in connection with transactions with or on behalf of customers within the meaning of section 1(a)(47)(D) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 1(a)(47)(D), in which case the Commission shall by order published in the Federal Register provide notice of such determination, which order shall also establish the phase-in termination date.
(5) Insured depository institution swaps in connection with originating loans to customers. Swaps entered into by an insured depository institution with a customer in connection with originating a loan with that customer shall not be considered in determining whether the insured depository institution is a swap dealer.
(i) An insured depository institution shall be considered to have entered into a swap with a customer in connection with originating a loan, as defined in paragraphs (ggg)(5)(ii) and (iii) of this section, with that customer only if:
(B) (1) The rate, asset, liability or other notional item underlying such swap is, or is directly related to, a financial term of such loan, which includes, without limitation, the loan's duration, rate of interest, the currency or currencies in which it is made and its principal amount;
(2) Such swap is required, as a condition of the loan under the insured depository institution's loan underwriting criteria, to be in place in order to hedge price risks incidental to the borrower's business and arising from potential changes in the price of a commodity (other than an excluded commodity);
(D) The insured depository institution is:
(1) The sole source of funds to the customer under the loan;
(2) Committed to be, under the terms of the agreements related to the loan, the source of at least 10 percent of the maximum principal amount under the loan; or
(3) Committed to be, under the terms of the agreements related to the loan, the source of a principal amount that is greater than or equal to the aggregate notional amount of all swaps entered into by the insured depository institution with the customer in connection with the financial terms of the loan;
(ii) An insured depository institution shall be considered to have originated a loan with a customer if the insured depository institution:
(iii) The term loan shall not include:
(6) Swaps that are not considered in determining whether a person is a swap dealer.
(ii) Activities of a cooperative.
(A) Any swap that is entered into by a cooperative with a member of such cooperative shall not be considered in determining whether the cooperative is a swap dealer, provided that:
(1) The swap is subject to policies and procedures of the cooperative requiring that the cooperative monitors and manages the risk of such swap;
(2) The cooperative reports the swap as required by Section 4r of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 6r (except as otherwise provided in Section 4r(a)(3)(A) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 6r(a)(3)(A) or Section 4r(a)(3)(B) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 6r(a)(3)(B)); and
(3) if the cooperative is a cooperative association of producers, the swap is primarily based on a commodity that is not an excluded commodity.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph (ggg)(6)(ii), the term cooperative shall mean:
(1) A cooperative association of producers as defined in section 1a(14) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 1a(14), or
(2) A person chartered under Federal law as a cooperative and predominantly engaged in activities that are financial in nature as defined in section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 12 U.S.C. 1843(k).
(iii) Swaps entered into for the purpose of hedging physical positions. In determining whether a person is a swap dealer, a swap that the person enters into shall not be considered, if:
(A) The person enters into the swap for the purpose of offsetting or mitigating the person's price risks that arise from the potential change in the value of one or several -
(1) Assets that the person owns, produces, manufactures, processes, or merchandises or anticipates owning, producing, manufacturing, processing, or merchandising;
(2) Liabilities that the person owns or anticipates incurring; or
(3) Services that the person provides, purchases, or anticipates providing or purchasing;
(iv) Swaps entered into by floor traders. In determining whether a person is a swap dealer, each swap that the person enters into in its capacity as a floor trader as defined by section 1a(23) of the Act or on or subject to the rules of a swap execution facility shall not be considered for the purpose of determining whether the person is a swap dealer if the person:
(hhh) Major Swap Participant - (1) In general. The term major swap participant means any person:
(ii)
(C) That is a financial entity that:
(1) Is highly leveraged relative to the amount of capital such entity holds and that is not subject to capital requirements established by an appropriate Federal banking agency (as defined in Section 1a(2) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 1a(2)); and
(2) Maintains a substantial position in outstanding swaps in any major swap category.
(4) Reevaluation period. Notwithstanding paragraph (hhh)(3) of this section, if a person that is not registered as a major swap participant meets the criteria in this rule to be a major swap participant in a fiscal quarter, but does not exceed any applicable threshold by more than twenty percent in that quarter:
(6) Calculation of status. A person shall not be deemed to be a “major swap participant,” regardless of whether the criteria paragraph (hhh)(1) of this section otherwise would cause the person to be a major swap participant, provided the person meets the conditions set forth in paragraphs (hhh)(6)(i), (ii) or (iii) of this section.
(i) Caps on uncollateralized exposure and notional positions.
(ii) Caps on uncollateralized exposure plus monthly calculation.
(B) Calculation of positions. (1) At the end of each month, the person performs the calculations prescribed by paragraph (jjj) of this section with regard to whether the aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure plus aggregate potential outward exposure as of that day constitute a “substantial position” in a major category of swaps, or pose “substantial counterparty exposure that could have serious adverse effects on the financial stability of the United States banking system or financial markets”; these calculations shall disregard provisions of those rules that provide for the analyses to be determined based on a daily average over a calendar quarter; and
(2) Each such analysis produces thresholds of no more than:
(i) $1 billion in aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure plus aggregate potential outward exposure in any major category of swaps; if the person is subject to paragraph (jjj) of this section, by virtue of being a highly leveraged financial entity that is not subject to capital requirements established by an appropriate Federal banking agency, this analysis shall account for all of the person's swap positions in that major category (without excluding hedging positions), otherwise this analysis shall exclude the same hedging and related positions that are excluded from consideration pursuant to paragraph (jjj)(1)(i) of this section; or
(ii) $2 billion in aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure plus aggregate potential outward exposure (without any positions excluded from the analysis) with regard to all of the person's swap positions.
(iii) Calculations based on certain information.
(A) (1) At the end of each month, the person's aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure with respect to its swap positions in each major swap category is less than $1.5 billion with respect to the rate swap category and less than $500 million with respect to each of the other major swap categories; and
(2) At the end of each month, the sum of the amount calculated under paragraph (hhh)(6)(iii)(A)(1) of this section with respect to each major swap category and the total notional principal amount of the person's swap positions in each such major swap category, adjusted by the multipliers set forth in paragraph (jjj)(3)(ii)(1) of this section on a position-by-position basis reflecting the type of swap, is less than $3 billion with respect to the rate swap category and less than $1 billion with respect to each of the other major swap categories; or
(B) (1) At the end of each month, the person's aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure with respect to its swap positions across all major swap categories is less than $500 million; and
(2) The sum of the amount calculated under paragraph (hhh)(6)(iii)(B)(1) of this section and the product of the total effective notional principal amount of the person's swap positions in all major swap categories multiplied by 0.15 is less than $1 billion.
(C) For purposes of the calculations set forth in this paragraph (hhh)(6)(iii):
(1) The person's aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure for positions held with swap dealers shall be equal to such exposure reported on the most recent reports of such exposure received from such swap dealers; and
(2) The person's aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure for positions that are not reflected in any report of exposure from a swap dealer (including all swap positions it holds with persons other than swap dealers) shall be calculated in accordance with paragraph (jjj)(2) of this section.
(jjj) Substantial position.
(1) In general. For purposes of Section 1a(33) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 1a(33), and paragraph (hhh) of this section, the term “substantial position” means swap positions that equal or exceed any of the following thresholds in the specified major category of swaps:
(i) For rate swaps:
(B) $6 billion in:
(1) Daily average aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure plus
(2) Daily average aggregate potential outward exposure.
(ii) For credit swaps:
(B) $2 billion in:
(1) Daily average aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure plus
(2) Daily average aggregate potential outward exposure.
(iii) For equity swaps:
(B) $2 billion in:
(1) Daily average aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure plus
(2) Daily average aggregate potential outward exposure.
(iv) For other commodity swaps:
(B) $2 billion in:
(1) Daily average aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure plus
(2) Daily average aggregate potential outward exposure.
(iii) Relevance of netting agreements.
(iv) Allocation of uncollateralized outward exposure. If a person calculates current exposure with a particular counterparty on a net basis, as provided by paragraph (jjj)(2)(iii) of this section, the portion of that current exposure that should be attributed to each “major” category of swaps for purposes of the substantial position analysis should be calculated according to the formula:

Where: ES(MC) equals the amount of aggregate current exposure attributable to the entity's swap positions in the “major” swap category at issue; Enet total equals the entity's aggregate current exposure to the counterparty at issue, after accounting for the netting of positions and the posting of collateral; OTMS(MC) equals the exposure associated with the entity's out-of-the-money positions in swaps in the “major” category at issue, subject to those netting arrangements; and OTMS(O) equals the exposure associated with the entity's out-of-the-money positions in the other “major” categories of swaps, subject to those netting arrangements; and OTMnon-S equals the exposure associated with the entity's out-of-the-money positions associated with instruments, other than swaps, that are subject to those netting arrangements.
(3) Aggregate potential outward exposure - (i) In general. Aggregate potential outward exposure in any major swap category means the sum of:
(ii) Calculation of potential outward exposure for swaps that are not subject to daily mark-to-market margining and are not cleared by a registered or exempt clearing agency or derivatives clearing organization - (A) In general. (1) For positions in swaps that are not subject to daily mark-to-market margining and are not cleared by a registered or exempt clearing agency or a derivatives clearing organization, potential outward exposure equals the total notional principal amount of those positions, multiplied by the following factors on a position-by-position basis reflecting the type of swap. For any swap that does not appropriately fall within any of the specified categories, the “other commodities” conversion factors set forth in the following Table 1 are to be used. If a swap is structured such that on specified dates any outstanding exposure is settled and the terms are reset so that the market value of the swap is zero, the remaining maturity equals the time until the next reset date.
Table 1 - Conversion Factor Matrix for SwapsResidual maturity Interest rate Foreign exchange rate and gold Precious metals (except gold) Other commodities One year or less0.000.010.070.10 Over one to five years0.0050.050.070.12 Over five years0.0150.0750.080.15
| Residual maturity | Credit | Equity |
|---|---|---|
| One year or less | 0.10 | 0.06 |
| Over one to five years | 0.10 | 0.08 |
| Over five years | 0.10 | 0.10 |
(2) Use of effective notional amounts. If the stated notional amount on a position is leveraged or enhanced by the structure of the position, the calculation in paragraph (jjj)(3)(ii)(A)(1) of this section shall be based on the effective notional amount of the position rather than on the stated notional amount.
(3) Exclusion of certain positions. The calculation in paragraph (jjj)(3)(ii)(A)(1) of this section shall exclude:
(i) Positions that constitute the purchase of an option, if the purchaser has no additional payment obligations under the position;
(ii) Other positions for which the person has prepaid or otherwise satisfied all of its payment obligations; and
(iii) Positions for which, pursuant to law or a regulatory requirement, the person has assigned an amount of cash or U.S. Treasury securities that is sufficient at all times to pay the person's maximum possible liability under the position, and the person may not use that cash or those Treasury securities for other purposes.
(4) Adjustment for certain positions. Notwithstanding paragraph (jjj)(3)(ii)(A)(1) of this section, the potential outward exposure associated with a position by which a person buys credit protection using a credit default swap or index credit default swap, or associated with a position by which a person purchases an option for which the person retains additional payment obligations under the position, is capped at the net present value of the unpaid premiums.
(B) Adjustment for netting agreements. Notwithstanding paragraph (jjj)(3)(ii)(A) of this section, for positions subject to master netting agreements the potential outward exposure associated with the person's swaps with each counterparty equals a weighted average of the potential outward exposure for the person's swaps with that counterparty as calculated under paragraph (jjj)(3)(ii)(A) of this section, and that amount reduced by the ratio of net current exposure to gross current exposure, consistent with the following equation as calculated on a counterparty-by-counterparty basis:
PNet = 0.4 * PGross + 0.6 * NGR * PGross
Where: PNet is the potential outward exposure, adjusted for bilateral netting, of the person's swaps with a particular counterparty; PGross is the potential outward exposure without adjustment for bilateral netting as calculated pursuant to paragraph (jjj)(3)(ii)(A) of this section; and NGR is the ratio of the current exposure arising from its swaps in the major category as calculated on a net basis according to paragraphs (jjj)(2)(iii) and (iv) of this section, divided by the current exposure arising from its swaps in the major category as calculated in the absence of those netting procedures.
(iii) Calculation of potential outward exposure for swaps that are either subject to daily mark-to-market margining or are cleared by a registered or exempt clearing agency or derivatives clearing organization. For positions in swaps that are subject to daily mark-to-market margining or that are cleared by a registered or exempt clearing agency or derivatives clearing organization:
(A) Potential outward exposure equals the potential exposure that would be attributed to such positions using the procedures in paragraph (jjj)(3)(ii) of this section multiplied by:
(1) 0.1, in the case of positions cleared by a registered or exempt clearing agency or derivatives clearing organization; or
(2) 0.2, in the case of positions that are subject to daily mark-to-market margining but that are not cleared by a registered or exempt clearing agency or derivatives clearing organization.
(B) Solely for purposes of calculating potential outward exposure:
(1) A swap shall be considered to be subject to daily mark-to-market margining if, and for so long as, the counterparties follow the daily practice of exchanging collateral to reflect changes in the current exposure arising from the swap (after taking into account any other financial positions addressed by a netting agreement between the counterparties).
(2) If the person is permitted by agreement to maintain a threshold for which it is not required to post collateral, the position still will be considered to be subject to daily mark-to-market margining for purposes of calculating potential outward exposure, but the total amount of that threshold (regardless of the actual exposure at any time), less any initial margin posted up to the amount of that threshold, shall be added to the person's aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure for purposes of paragraph (jjj)(1)(i)(B), (ii)(B), (iii)(B) or (iv)(B) of this section, as applicable.
(3) If the minimum transfer amount under the agreement is in excess of $1 million, the position still will be considered to be subject to daily mark-to-market margining for purposes of calculating potential outward exposure, but the entirety of the minimum transfer amount shall be added to the person's aggregate uncollateralized outward exposure for purposes of paragraph (jjj)(1)(i)(B), (ii)(B), (iii)(B) or (iv)(B) of this section, as applicable.
(4) A person may, at its discretion, calculate the potential outward exposure of positions in swaps that are subject to daily mark-to-market margining in accordance with paragraph (jjj)(3)(ii) of this section in lieu of calculating the potential outward exposure of such swap positions in accordance with this paragraph (jjj)(3)(iii).
(kkk) Hedging or mitigating commercial risk. For purposes of Section 1a(33) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 1a(33) and paragraph (hhh) of this section, a swap position is held for the purpose of hedging or mitigating commercial risk when:
(1) Such position:
(i) Is economically appropriate to the reduction of risks in the conduct and management of a commercial enterprise (or of a majority-owned affiliate of the enterprise), where the risks arise from:
(iii) Qualifies for hedging treatment under:
(2) Such position is:
(ii) $8 billion in:
(1) For purposes of Section 1a(33) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 1a(33), and paragraph (hhh) of this section, the term financial entity means:
(2) Inclusion of particular products.
(i) The term swap includes, without limiting the meaning set forth in section 1a(47) of the Commodity Exchange Act, the following agreements, contracts, and transactions:
(3) Foreign exchange forwards and foreign exchange swaps. Notwithstanding paragraph (xxx)(2) of this section:
(ii) Notwithstanding paragraph (xxx)(3)(i) of this section:
(v) For purposes of sections 1a(24) and 1a(25) of the Commodity Exchange Act and this paragraph (xxx), the following transactions are not foreign exchange forwards or foreign exchange swaps:
(4) Insurance.
(i) This paragraph is a non-exclusive safe harbor. The terms swap as used in section 1a(47) of the Commodity Exchange Act and security-based swap as used in section 1a(42) of the Commodity Exchange Act do not include an agreement, contract, or transaction that:
(A) By its terms or by law, as a condition of performance on the agreement, contract, or transaction:
(1) Requires the beneficiary of the agreement, contract, or transaction to have an insurable interest that is the subject of the agreement, contract, or transaction and thereby carry the risk of loss with respect to that interest continuously throughout the duration of the agreement, contract, or transaction;
(2) Requires that loss to occur and to be proved, and that any payment or indemnification therefor be limited to the value of the insurable interest;
(3) Is not traded, separately from the insured interest, on an organized market or over-the-counter; and
(4) With respect to financial guaranty insurance only, in the event of payment default or insolvency of the obligor, any acceleration of payments under the policy is at the sole discretion of the insurer; and
(B) Is provided:
(1)(i) By a person that is subject to supervision by the insurance commissioner (or similar official or agency) of any State or by the United States or an agency or instrumentality thereof; and
(ii) Such agreement, contract, or transaction is regulated as insurance under applicable State law or the laws of the United States;
(2)(i) Directly or indirectly by the United States, any State or any of their respective agencies or instrumentalities; or
(ii) Pursuant to a statutorily authorized program thereof; or
(3) In the case of reinsurance only, by a person to another person that satisfies the conditions set forth in paragraph (xxx)(4)(i)(B) of this section, provided that:
(i) Such person is not prohibited by applicable State law or the laws of the United States from offering such agreement, contract, or transaction to such person that satisfies the conditions set forth in paragraph (xxx)(4)(i)(B) of this section;
(ii) The agreement, contract, or transaction to be reinsured satisfies the conditions set forth in paragraph (xxx)(4)(i)(A) or paragraph (xxx)(4)(i)(C) of this section; and
(iii) Except as otherwise permitted under applicable State law, the total amount reimbursable by all reinsurers for such agreement, contract, or transaction may not exceed the claims or losses paid by the person writing the risk being ceded or transferred by such person; or
(4) In the case of non-admitted insurance, by a person who:
(i) Is located outside of the United States and listed on the Quarterly Listing of Alien Insurers as maintained by the International Insurers Department of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; or
(ii) Meets the eligibility criteria for non-admitted insurers under applicable State law; or
(C) Is provided in accordance with the conditions set forth in paragraph (xxx)(4)(i)(B) of this section and is one of the following types of products:
(1) Surety bond;
(2) Fidelity bond;
(3) Life insurance;
(4) Health insurance;
(5) Long term care insurance;
(6) Title insurance;
(7) Property and casualty insurance;
(8) Annuity;
(9) Disability insurance;
(10) Insurance against default on individual residential mortgages; and
(11) Reinsurance of any of the foregoing products identified in paragraphs (xxx)(4)(i)(C)(1) through (10) of this section; or
(6) Anti-Evasion:
(2) Tolerance period for swaps traded on designated contract markets, swap execution facilities, and foreign boards of trade. Notwithstanding paragraph (yyy)(1) of this section, solely for purposes of swaps traded on or subject to the rules of a designated contract market, swap execution facility, or foreign board of trade, a security index underlying such swaps shall not be considered a narrow-based security index if:
(i)
(3) Tolerance period for security-based swaps traded on national securities exchanges or security-based swap execution facilities. Notwithstanding paragraph (yyy)(1) of this section, solely for purposes of security-based swaps traded on a national securities exchange or security-based swap execution facility, a security index underlying such security-based swaps shall be considered a narrow-based security index if:
(i)
(4) Grace period.
(zzz) Meaning of “issuers of securities in a narrow-based security index” as used in the definition of “security-based swap” as applied to index credit default swaps.
(1) Notwithstanding paragraph (yyy)(1) of this section, and solely for purposes of determining whether a credit default swap is a security-based swap under the definition of “security-based swap” in section 3(a)(68)(A)(ii)(III) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(68)(A)(ii)(III), as incorporated in section 1a(42) of the Commodity Exchange Act, the term issuers of securities in a narrow-based security index means issuers of securities included in an index (including an index referencing loan borrowers or loans of such borrowers) in which:
(i)
(A) There are nine or fewer non-affiliated issuers of securities that are reference entities included in the index, provided that an issuer of securities shall not be deemed a reference entity included in the index for purposes of this section unless:
(1) A credit event with respect to such reference entity would result in a payment by the credit protection seller to the credit protection buyer under the credit default swap based on the related notional amount allocated to such reference entity; or
(2) The fact of such credit event or the calculation in accordance with paragraph (zzz)(1)(i)(A)(1) of this section of the amount owed with respect to such credit event is taken into account in determining whether to make any future payments under the credit default swap with respect to any future credit events;
(D) Except as provided in paragraph (zzz)(2) of this section, for each reference entity included in the index, none of the criteria in paragraphs (zzz)(1)(i)(D)(1) through (8) of this section is satisfied:
(1) The reference entity included in the index is required to file reports pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m or 78o(d));
(2) The reference entity included in the index is eligible to rely on the exemption provided in rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.12g3-2(b));
(3) The reference entity included in the index has a worldwide market value of its outstanding common equity held by non-affiliates of $700 million or more;
(4) The reference entity included in the index (other than a reference entity included in the index that is an issuing entity of an asset-backed security as defined in section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77)) has outstanding notes, bonds, debentures, loans, or evidences of indebtedness (other than revolving credit facilities) having a total remaining principal amount of at least $1 billion;
(5) The reference entity included in the index is the issuer of an exempted security as defined in section 3(a)(12) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(12)) (other than any municipal security as defined in section 3(a)(29) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(29)));
(6) The reference entity included in the index is a government of a foreign country or a political subdivision of a foreign country;
(7) If the reference entity included in the index is an issuing entity of an asset-backed security as defined in section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77)), such asset-backed security was issued in a transaction registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) and has publicly available distribution reports; and
(8) For a credit default swap entered into solely between eligible contract participants as defined in section 1a(18) of the Commodity Exchange Act:
(i) The reference entity included in the index (other than a reference entity included in the index that is an issuing entity of an asset-backed security as defined in section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77))) makes available to the public or otherwise makes available to such eligible contract participant information about the reference entity included in the index pursuant to rule 144A(d)(4) under the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR 230.144A(d)(4));
(ii) Financial information about the reference entity included in the index (other than a reference entity included in the index that is an issuing entity of an asset-backed security as defined in section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77))) is otherwise publicly available; or
(iii) In the case of a reference entity included in the index that is an issuing entity of an asset-backed security as defined in section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77)), information of the type and level included in publicly available distribution reports for similar asset-backed securities is publicly available about both the reference entity included in the index and such asset-backed security; and
(ii)
(2) Paragraph (zzz)(1)(i)(D) of this section will not apply with respect to a reference entity included in the index if:
(3) For purposes of this paragraph (zzz):
(iii) In identifying a reference entity included in the index for purposes of this section, the term reference entity includes:
(aaaa) Meaning of “narrow-based security index” as used in the definition of “security-based swap” as applied to index credit default swaps.
(1) Notwithstanding paragraph (yyy)(1) of this section, and solely for purposes of determining whether a credit default swap is a security-based swap under the definition of “security-based swap” in section 3(a)(68)(A)(ii)(I) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(68)(A)(ii)(I), as incorporated in section 1a(42) of the Commodity Exchange Act, the term narrow-based security index means an index in which:
(i)
(A) The index is composed of nine or fewer securities or securities that are issued by nine or fewer non-affiliated issuers, provided that a security shall not be deemed a component of the index for purposes of this section unless:
(1) A credit event with respect to the issuer of such security or a credit event with respect to such security would result in a payment by the credit protection seller to the credit protection buyer under the credit default swap based on the related notional amount allocated to such security; or
(2) The fact of such credit event or the calculation in accordance with paragraph (aaaa)(1)(i)(A)(1) of this section of the amount owed with respect to such credit event is taken into account in determining whether to make any future payments under the credit default swap with respect to any future credit events;
(D) Except as provided in paragraph (aaaa)(2) of this section, for each security included in the index, none of the criteria in paragraphs (aaaa)(1)(i)(D)(1) through (8) is satisfied:
(1) The issuer of the security included in the index is required to file reports pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m or 78o(d));
(2) The issuer of the security included in the index is eligible to rely on the exemption provided in rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.12g3-2(b));
(3) The issuer of the security included in the index has a worldwide market value of its outstanding common equity held by non-affiliates of $700 million or more;
(4) The issuer of the security included in the index (other than an issuer of the security that is an issuing entity of an asset-backed security as defined in section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77))) has outstanding notes, bonds, debentures, loans or evidences of indebtedness (other than revolving credit facilities) having a total remaining principal amount of at least $1 billion;
(5) The security included in the index is an exempted security as defined in section 3(a)(12) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(12)) (other than any municipal security as defined in section 3(a)(29) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(29)));
(6) The issuer of the security included in the index is a government of a foreign country or a political subdivision of a foreign country;
(7) If the security included in the index is an asset-backed security as defined in section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77)), the security was issued in a transaction registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) and has publicly available distribution reports; and
(8) For a credit default swap entered into solely between eligible contract participants as defined in section 1a(18) of the Commodity Exchange Act:
(i) The issuer of the security included in the index (other than an issuer of the security that is an issuing entity of an asset-backed security as defined in section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77))) makes available to the public or otherwise makes available to such eligible contract participant information about such issuer pursuant to rule 144A(d)(4) of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR 230.144A(d)(4));
(ii) Financial information about the issuer of the security included in the index (other than an issuer of the security that is an issuing entity of an asset-backed security as defined in section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77))) is otherwise publicly available; or
(iii) In the case of an asset-backed security as defined in section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77)), information of the type and level included in public distribution reports for similar asset-backed securities is publicly available about both the issuing entity and such asset-backed security; and
(ii)
(2) Paragraph (aaaa)(1)(i)(D) of this section will not apply with respect to securities of an issuer included in the index if:
(3) For purposes of this paragraph (aaaa):
(iii) In identifying an issuer of securities included in the index for purposes of this section, the term issuer includes:
(bbbb) Futures contracts on certain foreign sovereign debt. The term security-based swap as used in section 3(a)(68) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(68)), as incorporated in section 1a(42) of the Commodity Exchange Act, does not include an agreement, contract, or transaction that is based on or references a qualifying foreign futures contract (as defined in rule 3a12-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.3a12-8)) on the debt securities of any one or more of the foreign governments enumerated in rule 3a12-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.3a12-8), provided that such agreement, contract, or transaction satisfies the following conditions:
(hhhh) Electronic trading facility. This term means a trading facility that -
(jjjj) Futures customer funds. This term means all money, securities, and property received by a futures commission merchant or by a derivatives clearing organization from, for, or on behalf of, futures customers:
(2) In connection with a commodity option transaction on or subject to the rules of a contract market, or derivatives clearing organization, as the case may be:
(1) Permits trading -
(2) Has adopted (directly or through another nongovernmental entity) rules that -
(nnnn) Registered entity. This term means:
(rrrr) Swap execution facility. This term means a trading system or platform in which multiple participants have the ability to execute or trade swaps by accepting bids and offers made by multiple participants in the facility or system, through any means of interstate commerce, including any trading facility, that -
(ssss) Trading facility. This term has the meaning set forth in section 1a(51) of the Act.
Editorial Note:For Federal Register citations affecting § 1.3, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.fdsys.gov.
[41 FR 3194, Jan. 21, 1976]