Late Fee for CTA and CPO Quarterly Reports
On June 21, 2016, the National Futures Association (“NFA”) announced an amendment to NFA Compliance Rule 2-46 (“Rule 2-46”), which will a impose late fee for commodity trading advisors (“CTAs”) and commodity pool operators (“CPOs”) quarterly reports filed after the due date. Form PQR is the quarterly report for CPOs and Form PR is the quarterly report for CTAs. As per the amendment, CTAs and CPOs will be fined $200 for each business day the quarterly report is past due. The effective date of the amendment to Rule 2-46 will begin with the third quarter reports for 2016.
The NFA Notice to Members I-16-16 announced the amendment to Rule 2-46. The proposed amendment to Rule 2-46 was submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) in May 2016.
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Final Cross-Border Margin Rule
In Press Release PR 73730-16, the CFTC announced the final cross-border margin rule. Specifically, the adopted rule implements a cross-border approach to the CFTC’s margin requirements for uncleared swaps. The adopted rule is for the application of the CFTC’s margin requirements to cross-border transactions (the “Final Rule”). As per the CFTC published Fact Sheet, the Final Rule establishes a cross-border approach to the CFTC’s rule setting margin requirements for the uncleared swaps of registered swap dealers or major swap participants that are not subject to the margin requirements of the prudential regulators, (covered swap entities – “CSEs”). Further, CSEs are now required to comply with the CFTC’s margin requirements for all uncleared swaps in cross-border transactions, with a limited exclusion for certain non-US CSEs, as per the Final Rule. Further details and analysis are available on the Ruddy Gregory, PLLC website.
FINANCIAL CRIMES ENFORCEMENT NETWORK
Deadline for Submitting FBAR
The filing deadline for submitting Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) Report 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”) is approaching. The filing deadline is June 30, 2016 and due date extensions are not available. A US person that has a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts must file an FBAR if the aggregate value of the foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. FBARs are filed electronically through the BSA E-Filing System. FBAR filers should review the filing instructions provided by FinCEN for information on who is required to file and how to file an FBAR.
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For further information about any of the topics covered, please feel free to contact the Ruddy Gregory, PLLC (www.ruddylaw.com) or 202-797-0762.