76450 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 230 / Monday, November 30, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 

2The swap clearing requirement is codified in 

part 50 of the Commission’s regulations (17 CFR 

part 50). 

Commission’s requirement that certain 

commonly traded interest rate swaps and 

credit default swaps be cleared following 

their execution.2 The new exemptions may 

be elected by several classes of counterparties 

that may enter into these swaps, namely: 

Sovereign nations; central banks; 

‘‘international financial institutions’’ of 

which sovereign nations are members; bank 

holding companies, and savings and loan 

holding companies, whose assets total no 

more than $10 billion; and community 

development financial institutions 

recognized by the U.S. Treasury Department. 

Today’s final rule notes that many of these 

entities have actually relied on existing relief, 

electing not to clear swaps that are generally 

subject to the clearing requirement. I strongly 

support the policy of international ‘‘comity’’ 

described in the final rule, recognizing that 

sovereign nations and their instrumentalities 

should generally not be subject to the 

Commission’s regulations. I trust that by 

issuing this rule, the United States, the 

Federal Reserve, and other U.S. government 

instrumentalities will receive the same 

treatment in foreign jurisdictions. 

Appendix 4—Statement of Commissioner 

Dan M. Berkovitz 

I am voting for the final rule codifying 

certain limited exemptions from the swap 

clearing requirement that currently exist 

through Commission guidance or staff no 

action relief. The exemptions are consistent 

with longstanding Commission policies. 

Analysis of available historical data shows 

that the number and notional amount of 

swaps that would be exempted are relatively 

limited and not likely to materially impact 

systemic risk. Furthermore, the swaps 

exempted from clearing will be subject to 

uncleared swap margin requirements, if 

applicable, thereby mitigating the risks of not 

clearing these swaps. 

The final rule codifies in rule text 

exemptions for swaps entered into by foreign 

central banks, sovereign entities at the 

national level, and certain international 

institutions that previously have been 

exempted from the clearing requirement 

through no action relief or guidance. In this 

regard, the final rule represents a proper 

exercise of international comity in 

recognition of the governmental nature and 

non-speculative purposes of these sovereign 

entities and international institutions. 

The final rule also provides clearing 

exemptions for certain interest rate swaps of 

community development financial 

institutions, subject to a number of 

significant limits, and for swaps entered into 

by bank or savings and loan holding 

companies that have no more than $10 

billion in consolidated assets. In each case, 

the exemption only applies if the swap is 

used to hedge or mitigate commercial risks. 

Congress provided in Commodity Exchange 

Act section 2(h)(7)(C) for an exclusion from 

the clearing requirement for banks and 

savings associations with less than $10 

billion in assets to the extent determined by 

the Commission. It is appropriate to apply 

this exemption to the holding companies of 

these financial entities. 

One commenter, Better Markets, expressed 

concern that the number of entities that will 

now have an exemption from the clearing 

requirement has grown over time, leading to 

the potential for greater risk, reduction in 

liquidity in cleared markets, and complexity 

in managing the exemptions. As described in 

the preamble to the final rule, swap data 

repository data indicates that over the past 

several years the number and scope of swaps 

entered into by these institutions that will be 

included within the exemptions has been 

relatively limited. Given this data, these 

concerns, today, do not outweigh the benefits 

of the final rule. However, the Commission 

should periodically review the SDR data to 

reassess whether the clearing requirement 

exemptions are cumulatively having a 

material impact on the extent of swap 

clearing given the intent of the Dodd-Frank 

Act. The Commission can then evaluate 

whether, on a going forward basis, any 

changes to the exemptions may be warranted. 

I commend the staff of the Division of 

Clearing and Risk for this well developed and 

drafted final rule. The clarity and 

completeness of the final release helps 

establish a sound basis for the Commission 

to approve the final rule. 

[FR Doc. 2020–25394 Filed 11–27–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6351–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

31 CFR Part 591 

Publication of Web General Licenses 

Issued Pursuant to the Venezuela 

Sanctions Regulations 

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets 

Control, Treasury. 

ACTION: Publication of Web General 

Licenses. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets 

Control (OFAC) is publishing three 

Venezuela-related web general licenses 

in the Federal Register: General License 

5C, which has been superseded, General 

License 5D, which has been superseded, 

and General License 5E, each of which 

was previously issued on OFAC’s 

website. 

DATES: General License 5E was issued 

on October 6, 2020 and the 

authorizations in it will be effective 

January 19, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

OFAC: Assistant Director for Licensing, 

202–622–2480; Assistant Director for 

Regulatory Affairs, 202–622–4855; or 

Assistant Director for Sanctions 

Compliance & Evaluation, 202–622– 

2490. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Availability 

This document and additional 

information concerning OFAC are 

available on OFAC’s website 

(www.treasury.gov/ofac). 

Background 

On March 8, 2015, the President, 

invoking the authority of, inter alia, the 

International Emergency Economic 

Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701–1706), 

issued Executive Order (E.O.) 13692 of 

March 8, 2015, ‘‘Blocking Property and 

Suspending Entry of Certain Persons 

Contributing to the Situation in 

Venezuela’’ (80 FR 12747, March 11, 

2015). In E.O. 13692, the President 

found that the situation in Venezuela, 

including the Government of 

Venezuela’s erosion of human rights 

guarantees, persecution of political 

opponents, curtailment of press 

freedoms, use of violence and human 

rights violations and abuses in response 

to antigovernment protests, and 

arbitrary arrest and detention of 

antigovernment protestors, as well as 

the exacerbating presence of significant 

public corruption, constitutes an 

unusual and extraordinary threat to the 

national security and foreign policy of 

the United States, and declared a 

national emergency to deal with that 

threat. 

The President has issued six 

additional Executive Orders pursuant to 

the national emergency declared in E.O. 

13692: E.O. 13808 of August 24, 2017, 

‘‘Imposing Additional Sanctions With 

Respect to the Situation in Venezuela’’ 

(82 FR 41155, August 29, 2017); E.O. 

13827 of March 19, 2018, ‘‘Taking 

Additional Steps to Address the 

Situation in Venezuela’’ (83 FR 12469, 

March 21, 2018); E.O. 13835 of May 21, 

2018, ‘‘Prohibiting Certain Additional 

Transactions With Respect to 

Venezuela’’ (83 FR 24001, May 24, 

2018); E.O. 13850 of November 1, 2018, 

‘‘Blocking Property of Additional 

Persons Contributing to the Situation in 

Venezuela’’ (83 FR 55243, November 2, 

2018); E.O. 13857 of January 25, 2019, 

‘‘Taking Additional Steps To Address 

the National Emergency With Respect to 

Venezuela’’ (84 FR 509, January 30, 

2019); and E.O. 13884 of August 5, 

2019, ‘‘Blocking Property of the 

Government of Venezuela’’ (84 FR 

38843, August 7, 2019). 

OFAC, in consultation with the 

Department of State, issued Venezuelarelated General License (GL) 5 on July 

19, 2018, pursuant to E.O. 13835, to 

authorize certain transactions related to 

the Petro ́leos de Venezuela S.A. 2020 

8.5 Percent Bond that were prohibited 


TKELLEY on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 230 / Monday, November 30, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 76451 

by Subsection 1(a)(iii) of E.O. 13835. On 

October 24, 2019, OFAC issued GL 5A, 

which replaced and superseded GL 5. 

GL 5A delayed until January 22, 2020 

the effectiveness of the authorization 

that was previously contained in GL 5. 

On January 17, 2020, OFAC issued GL 

5B, which replaced and superseded GL 

5A. GL 5B further delayed until April 

22, 2020 the effectiveness of the 

authorization that was previously 

contained in GL 5. On April 10, 2020, 

OFAC issued GL 5C, which replaced 

and superseded GL 5B. GL 5C further 

delayed until July 22, 2020 the 

effectiveness of the authorization that 

was previously contained in GL 5. On 

July 15, 2020, OFAC issued GL 5D, 

which replaced and superseded GL 5C. 

GL 5D further delayed until October 20, 

2020 the effectiveness of the 

authorization that was previously 

contained in GL 5. On October 6, 2020, 

OFAC issued GL 5E, which replaced 

and superseded GL 5D. GL 5E further 

delayed until January 19, 2021 the 

effectiveness of the authorization that 

was previously contained in GL 5. As a 

result, no transactions may be 

conducted pursuant to GL 5E until 

January 19, 2021. The texts of GL 5C, GL 

5D, and GL 5E are provided below. 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

Venezuela Sanctions Regulations 31 

CFR part 591 

General License No. 5C 

Authorizing Certain Transactions 

Related to the Petro ́leos de Venezuela, 

S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After 

July 22, 2020 

(a) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b) of this general license, on or after 

July 22, 2020, all transactions related to, 

the provision of financing for, and other 

dealings in the Petro ́leos de Venezuela, 

S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond that would 

be prohibited by Subsection l(a)(iii) of 

Executive Order (E.O.) 13835 of May 21, 

2018, as amended by E.O. 13857 of 

January 25, 2019, and incorporated into 

the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, 31 

CFR part 591 (the VSR), are authorized. 

(b) This general license does not 

authorize any transactions or activities 

otherwise prohibited by the VSR, or any 

other part of 31 CFR chapter V. 

(c) Effective April 10, 2020, General 

License No. 5B, dated January 21, 2020, 

is replaced and superseded in its 

entirety by this General License No. 5C. 

Andrea Gacki 

Director 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

Dated: April 10, 2020 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

Venezuela Sanctions Regulations 31 

CFR part 591 

General License No. 5D 

Authorizing Certain Transactions 

Related to the Petro ́leos de Venezuela, 

S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After 

October 20, 2020 

(a) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b) of this general license, on or after 

October 20, 2020, all transactions 

related to, the provision of financing for, 

and other dealings in the Petro ́leos de 

Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond 

that would be prohibited by Subsection 

l(a)(iii) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13835 

of May 21, 2018, as amended by E.O. 

13857 of January 25, 2019, and 

incorporated into the Venezuela 

Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 591 

(the VSR), are authorized. 

(b) This general license does not 

authorize any transactions or activities 

otherwise prohibited by the VSR, or any 

other part of 31 CFR chapter V. 

(c) Effective July 15, 2020, General 

License No. 5C, dated April 10, 2020, is 

replaced and superseded in its entirety 

by this General License No. 5D. 

Andrea Gacki 

Director 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

Dated: July 15, 2020 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

Venezuela Sanctions Regulations 31 

CFR part 591 

General License No. 5E 

Authorizing Certain Transactions 

Related to the Petro ́leos de Venezuela, 

S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After 

January 19, 2021 

(a) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b) of this general license, on or after 

January 19, 2021, all transactions related 

to, the provision of financing for, and 

other dealings in the Petro ́leos de 

Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond 

that would be prohibited by Subsection 

l(a)(iii) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13835 

of May 21, 2018, as amended by E.O. 

13857 of January 25, 2019, and 

incorporated into the Venezuela 

Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 591 

(the VSR), are authorized. 

(b) This general license does not 

authorize any transactions or activities 

otherwise prohibited by the VSR, or any 

other part of 31 CFR chapter V. 

(c) Effective October 6, 2020, General 

License No. 5D, dated July 15, 2020, is 

replaced and superseded in its entirety 

by this General License No. 5E. 

Andrea Gacki 

Director 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

Dated: October 6, 2020 

Dated: November 24, 2020. 

Andrea Gacki, 

Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26345 Filed 11–27–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AL–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 165 

[Docket Number USCG–USCG–2020–0645] 

RIN 1625–AA00 

Safety Zone; Neuse River, New Bern, 

NC 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Temporary final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is 

establishing a temporary safety zone on 

the navigable waters of the Neuse River 

in New Bern, North Carolina. This 

action is necessary to provide for the 

safety of life on these navigable water 

near New Bern, NC, during an aerobatic 

airshow on December 05, 2020. This 

rulemaking would prohibit persons and 

vessels from being in the safety zone 

unless authorized by the Captain of the 

Port (COTP) North Carolina or a 

designated representative. 

DATES: This rule is effective December 5, 

2020 from 4 p.m. through 5:30 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: To view documents 

mentioned in this preamble as being 

available in the docket, go to https://

www.regulations.gov, type USCG–2020– 

0645 in the ‘‘SEARCH’’ box and click 

‘‘SEARCH.’’ Click on Open Docket 

Folder on the line associated with this 

rule. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions on this rule, call or 

email Chief Petty Officer Joshua 

O’Rourke, Waterways Management 

Division, U.S. Coast Guard Sector North 

Carolina, Wilmington, NC; telephone 

910–772–2227, email NCMarineevents@

uscg.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Table of Abbreviations 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

FR Federal Register 

NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking 

§ Section 

U.S.C. United States Code 

II. Background Information and 

Regulatory History 

In August 2020, the UHF 

Development Group informed the Coast 


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