Commodity Futures Trading Commission ♦ Office of Public Affairs ♦ 202-418-5080

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Office of Public Affairs

Three Lafayette Centre

1155 21st Street, NW

Washington, DC 20581

www.cftc.gov

Final Rule on Swap Data 

Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) is adopting final rules establishing swap data 

recordkeeping and reporting requirements for registered entities and counterparties.

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act)

The final swap data recordkeeping and reporting rule implements the Dodd-Frank Act’s new statutory framework 

regarding swap data recordkeeping and reporting requirements for swap data repositories (SDRs), derivatives 

clearing organizations (DCOs), designated contract markets (DCMs), swap execution facilities (SEFs), swap 

dealers(SDs), major swap participants (MSPs) and swap counterparties who are neither swap dealers nor major swap 

participants (non-SD/MSP counterparties) (including, without limitation, counterparties entitled to elect the clearing 

requirement exception pursuant to CEA § 2(h)(7) with respect to particular swaps).

Recordkeeping requirements

SEFs, DCMs, DCOs, SDs, MSPs, and non-SD/MSP counterparties must keep records throughout the existence of 

a swap and for five years following termination of the swap. SDRs must keep records throughout the existence of 

the swap and for fifteen years following termination of the swap.

Data reporting requirements

In order to ensure that complete data concerning swaps is available to regulators, the final rule calls for electronic 

reporting to an SDR of swap data from each of two important stages of the existence of a swap: the creation of the 

swap, and the continuation of the swap over its existence until its final termination or expiration. Required swap 

creation data means all primary economic terms data and all confirmation data for a swap. Required swap 

continuation data means all changes to primary economic terms and all valuation data. 

The final rule adopts a streamlined reporting regime calling for reporting by the entity or reporting counterparty the 

Commission believes has the easiest, fastest, and cheapest access to the data. For all swaps executed on a SEF or 

DCM, all required creation data is reported by the SEF or DCM. For off-facility swaps accepted for clearing within 

the applicable deadline for reporting PET data, all required swap creation data is reported by the DCO. For offfacility swaps not cleared or not accepted for clearing within the applicable deadline, required swap creation data is 

reported by the reporting counterparty. 

Continuation data for cleared swaps is reported by the DCO, though SD and MSP reporting counterparties must 

also report valuation data. For uncleared swaps, all continuation data is reported by the reporting counterparty. 

Continuation data may be reported via either the life cycle or the snapshot reporting method, so long as the data in 

the SDR remains current and accurate and includes all changes to primary economic terms.

Unique identifiers
Commodity Futures Trading Commission ♦ Office of Public Affairs ♦ 202-418-5080

The final rulemaking calls for the use of three unique identifiers in connection with swap data reporting, including a 

Unique Swap Identifier (USI), a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), and a Unique Product Identifier (UPI). These unique 

identifiers will be crucial regulatory tools for linking data together and enabling data aggregation by regulators across 

counterparties, asset classes, and transactions. This will enhance regulators’ ability to mitigate systemic risk, prevent 

market manipulation, conduct effective market and trade practice surveillance, enforce position limits, and exercise 

resolution authority.

Reporting to a single SDR

To prevent data fragmentation, all data for a swap must be reported to a single SDR, which is the SDR receiving the 

first data report. Under the streamlined reporting regime adopted in the final rule, the SEF or DCM makes the 

initial report for on-facility swaps. For off-facility swaps, the reporting counterparty makes the first report, unless 

the swap is accepted for clearing before it is reported by the reporting counterparty and within the PET data 

reporting deadline, in which case the DCO makes the first report.

Required data standards

An SDR must maintain all swap data reported to it in a format acceptable to the Commission, and must transmit all 

swap data requested by the Commission to the Commission in an electronic file in a format acceptable to the 

Commission. In reporting swap data to an SDR, each reporting entity or counterparty must use the facilities, 

methods, or data standards provided or required by the SDR. SDRs may permit reporting entities and 

counterparties to use various facilities, methods, or data standards, provided that its requirements in this regard 

enable it to meet the requirements with respect to maintenance and transmission of swap data.

Burden reductions for non-SD/MSP reporting counterparties

Under the streamlined reporting regime adopted in the final rule, reporting obligations for non-SD/MSP 

counterparties are entirely eliminated in many cases, and are phased in or reduced in all other cases. Non-SD/MSP 

counterparties must report data only for the small minority of swaps in which both counterparties are non-SD/MSP 

counterparties. Even within this small minority of swaps, the non-SD/MSP reporting counterparty will have no 

reporting obligations for on-facility, cleared swaps, or for off-facility swaps accepted for clearing within the deadline 

for PET data reporting by the non-SD/MSP reporting counterparty. If an off-facility swap is accepted for clearing 

after the PET data reporting deadline, the non-SD/MSP counterparty is excused from reporting confirmation data, 

which will instead be reported by the DCO. For on-facility, uncleared swaps, the non-SD/MSP reporting 

counterparty’s reporting obligations are limited to reporting continuation data during the existence of the swap. In 

addition, reporting deadlines for non-SD/MSP reporting counterparties are extended and phased in. Unlike the 

proposed rule, the final rule does not make a U.S. non-SD/MSP counterparty report where the other counterparty 

is a foreign SD or MSP. Where one of two non-SD/MSP counterparties is a financial entity as defined in the 

Dodd-Frank Act, the final rule makes the financial entity the reporting counterparty.

Compliance dates

The final rule phases in compliance dates by asset class and by counterparty type, and establishes three compliance 

dates. Compliance date 1, the date on which SEFs, DCMs, DCOs, SDs, MSPs, and SDRs must commence 

compliance with respect to credit swaps and interest rate swaps, is the later of (a) July 16, 2012, or (b) 60 days after 

publication of Commission definitions of “swap,” “swap dealer,” and “major swap participant.” Compliance date 2, 

the date on which such entities and counterparties must commence compliance with respect to equity swaps, 

foreign exchange transactions, and other commodity swaps, is 90 calendar days after compliance date 1. 

Compliance date 3, the date on which non-SD/MSP counterparties must begin compliance with respect to swaps in 

all asset classes, is 90 calendar days after compliance date 2.