The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an Order that will keep the swap dealer de minimis threshold at $8 billion until December 2019. The one-year extension provides the CFTC additional time to complete the current data analysis and for the CFTC to consider appropriate further action.
The Order establishes a new swap dealer de minimis threshold phase-in termination date of December 31, 2019. Because of this action, the de minimis threshold will remain at $8 billion until December 31, 2019 instead of decreasing to $3 billion on December 31, 2018.
As described in the Order, significant progress is being made in analyzing additional swap data that will be useful for the Commission to assess appropriate amendments to the de minimis exception rule. However, any such modifications, if implemented, would not become effective until some point in 2018, after the CFTC completes the proposal, public comment, and final rule amendment process as required by the Administrative Procedure Act.