Regulations last checked for updates: Nov 24, 2024

Title 17 - Commodity and Securities Exchanges last revised: Nov 19, 2024
§ 39.2 - Definitions.

For the purposes of this part:

Activity with a more complex risk profile includes:

(1) Clearing credit default swaps, credit default futures, or derivatives that reference either credit default swaps or credit default futures and

(2) Any other activity designated as such by the Commission pursuant to § 39.33(a)(3).

Backtest means a test that compares a derivatives clearing organization's initial margin requirements with historical price changes to determine the extent of actual margin coverage.

Business day means the intraday period of time starting at the business hour of 8:15 a.m. and ending at the business hour of 4:45 p.m., on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and any holiday on which a derivatives clearing organization and its domestic financial markets are closed, including a Federal holiday in the United States, as established under 5 U.S.C. 6103.

Customer account or customer origin means “customer account” as defined in § 1.3 of this chapter.

Depository institution has the meaning set forth in section 19(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 461(b)(1)(A)).

Enterprise risk management means an enterprise-wide strategic business process intended to identify potential events that may affect the enterprise and to manage the probability or impact of those events on the enterprise as a whole, such that the overall risk remains within the enterprise's risk appetite and provides reasonable assurance that the derivatives clearing organization can continue to achieve its objectives.

Exempt derivatives clearing organization means a derivatives clearing organization that the Commission has exempted from registration under section 5b(a) of the Act, pursuant to section 5b(h) of the Act and § 39.6.

Fully collateralized position means a contract cleared by a derivatives clearing organization that requires the derivatives clearing organization to hold, at all times, funds in the form of the required payment sufficient to cover the maximum possible loss that a party or counterparty could incur upon liquidation or expiration of the contract.

Good regulatory standing means, with respect to a derivatives clearing organization that is organized outside of the United States, and is licensed, registered, or otherwise authorized to act as a clearing organization in its home country, that:

(1) In the case of an exempt derivatives clearing organization, either there has been no finding by the home country regulator of material non-observance of the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures or other relevant home country legal requirements, or there has been a finding by the home country regulator of material non-observance of the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures or other relevant home country legal requirements but any such finding has been or is being resolved to the satisfaction of the home country regulator by means of corrective action taken by the derivatives clearing organization; or

(2) In the case of a derivatives clearing organization registered subject to compliance with subpart D of this part, either there has been no finding by the home country regulator of material non-observance of the relevant home country legal requirements, or there has been a finding by the home country regulator of material non-observance of the relevant home country legal requirements but any such finding has been or is being resolved to the satisfaction of the home country regulator by means of corrective action taken by the derivatives clearing organization.

Home country means, with respect to a derivatives clearing organization that is organized outside of the United States, the jurisdiction in which the derivatives clearing organization is organized.

Home country regulator means, with respect to a derivatives clearing organization that is organized outside of the United States, an appropriate government authority which licenses, regulates, supervises, or oversees the derivatives clearing organization's clearing activities in the home country.

House account or house origin means a clearing member account which is not subject to section 4d(a) or 4d(f) of the Act.

Key personnel means derivatives clearing organization personnel who play a significant role in the operations of the derivatives clearing organization, the provision of clearing and settlement services, risk management, or oversight of compliance with the Act and Commission regulations in this chapter, and orders promulgated thereunder. Key personnel include, but are not limited to, those persons who are or perform the functions of any of the following: Chief executive officer; president; chief compliance officer; chief operating officer; chief risk officer; chief financial officer; chief technology officer; chief information security officer; and emergency contacts or persons who are responsible for business continuity or disaster recovery planning or program execution.

Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures means the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures jointly published by the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems and the Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions in April 2012.

Stress test means a test that compares the impact of potential extreme price moves, changes in option volatility, and/or changes in other inputs that affect the value of a position, to the financial resources of a derivatives clearing organization, clearing member, or large trader, to determine the adequacy of the financial resources of such entities.

Subpart C derivatives clearing organization means any derivatives clearing organization, as defined in section 1a(15) of the Act and § 1.3 of this chapter, which:

(1) Is registered as a derivatives clearing organization under section 5b of the Act;

(2) Is not a systemically important derivatives clearing organization; and

(3) Has become subject to the provisions of subpart C of this part, pursuant to § 39.31.

Substantial risk to the U.S. financial system means, with respect to a derivatives clearing organization organized outside of the United States, that—

(1) The derivatives clearing organization holds 20% or more of the required initial margin of U.S. clearing members for swaps across all registered and exempt derivatives clearing organizations; and

(2) Twenty percent or more of the initial margin requirements for swaps at that derivatives clearing organization is attributable to U.S. clearing members; provided, however, where one or both of these thresholds are identified as being close to 20%, the Commission may exercise discretion in determining whether an identified threshold is satisfied for the purpose of determining whether the derivatives clearing organization poses substantial risk to the U.S. financial system. For purposes of this definition and § 39.51, U.S. clearing member means a clearing member organized in the United States, a clearing member whose ultimate parent company is organized in the United States, or a futures commission merchant.

Systemically important derivatives clearing organization means a financial market utility that is a derivatives clearing organization registered under section 5b of the Act, which is currently designated by the Financial Stability Oversight Council to be systemically important and for which the Commission acts as the Supervisory Agency pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 5462(8).

Trust company means a trust company that is a member of the Federal Reserve System, under section 1 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 221), but that does not meet the definition of depository institution as set out in this section.

U.S. branch or agency of a foreign banking organization means the U.S. branch or agency of a foreign banking organization as defined in section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3101).

[85 FR 4850, Jan. 27, 2020, as amended at 85 FR 67186, Oct. 21, 2020; 86 FR 965, Jan. 7, 2021; 88 FR 53682, Aug. 8, 2023]
authority: 7 U.S.C. 2,6,7a,and; 12 U.S.C. 5464; 15 U.S.C. 8325; Section 752 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub. L. 111-203, title VII, sec. 752, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1749
source: 76 FR 69430, Nov. 8, 2011, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 17 CFR 39.2