The final joint swap definition rules and interpretations issued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission became effective on October 12, 2012, triggering a series of requirements related, among other things, to swap dealer registration, determination of who is a major swap participant, swap data reporting and recordkeeping, status of eligible contract participants, and registration as a commodity pool operator, commodity trading advisor, introducing broker, floor broker, or floor trader. The Product Definition Rules are summarized in an earlier WilmerHale alert. On October 11 and October 12, 2012, CFTC staff issued over a dozen no-action and interpretative letters and FAQs related to the effectiveness and implementation of several of these requirements.
