Commodity Futures Trading Commission 

 Office of Public Affairs 

 Three Lafayette Centre 

 1155 21st Street, NW 

 Washington, DC 20581 

 www.cftc.gov

Proposed Rule on Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Daily Trading Records 

Requirements for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) is proposing rules establishing reporting, 

recordkeeping, and daily trading records requirements for swap dealers and major swap participants.

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

Section 731 of the Dodd-Frank Act amends the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) by inserting Sections 4s(f) and 

4s(g), which establish reporting, recordkeeping, and daily trading records requirements for swap dealers and major 

swap participants. 

Section 4s(f)(1) requires swap dealers and major swap participants to “make such reports as are required by the 

Commission by rule or regulation regarding the transactions and positions and financial condition of the registered 

swap dealer or major swap participant.” Under sections 4s(f)(1)(B)(i) and (ii), the Commission is authorized to 

prescribe the books and records requirements of “all activities related to the business of swap dealers or major swap 

participants,” regardless of whether or not the entity has a prudential regulator. All books and records are required 

to be open to inspection and examination by any representative of the Commission. Under section 4s(f)(1)(D), 

books and records relating to security-based swap agreements also must be open to inspection and examination by 

the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Section 4s(g)(1) requires swap dealers and major swap participants to “maintain daily trading records of the swaps of 

the registered swap dealer and major swap participant and all related records (including records of related cash and 

forward transactions) and recorded communications, including electronic mail, instant messages, and recordings of 

telephone calls.” Section 4s(g)(3) requires that daily trading records for swaps be identifiable by counterparty, and 

section 4s(g)(4) specifies that swap dealers and major swap participants maintain a “complete audit trail for 

conducting comprehensive and accurate trade reconstructions.” 

Proposed Recordkeeping Rules 

The records that would be required under the proposed rules would include full and complete transaction and 

position information for all swap activities, including all documents on which trade information is originally 

recorded. Transaction records would be required to be maintained in a manner that is identifiable and searchable by 

transaction and by counterparty. 

The proposed rules also would require that swap dealers and major swap participants keep basic business records, 

including, among other things, minutes from meetings of the entity’s governing body, organizational charts, and 

audit documentation. Additionally, certain financial records, records of complaints against personnel, and 

marketing materials would be required to be kept. Finally, swap dealers and major swap participants would be 

required to maintain records of information required to be submitted to a swap data repository and reported on a 

real-time public basis.

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

Proposed Daily Trading Record Rule 

The proposed rules would prescribe daily trading record requirements, including records of trade information 

related to pre-execution, execution, and post-execution data. Pre-execution trade data would include records of all 

oral and written communications that lead to the execution of a swap. The proposed rules would require swap 

dealers and major swap participants to ensure that they preserve all information necessary to conduct a 

comprehensive and accurate trade reconstruction for each swap, and that they maintain each trade record as a 

separate electronic file identifiable and searchable by transaction and counterparty. Execution trade data would 

include all terms of each executed swap and the date and time, to the nearest minute, that each swap was executed. 

Post-execution data would include records of all confirmations, reconciliations, and margining of swaps. 

Under the proposed rules, records to be retained also would include information related to cash or forward 

transactions used to hedge, mitigate the risk of, or offset any swap held by the swap dealer or major swap 

participant. 

Proposed Retention and Inspection Rules 

The Commission also is proposing that all records be kept in accordance with existing Commission records rules, 

with the exception of records of, or related to, swap transactions, which would be retained for a longer period of 

time. 

Proposed Rules Regarding Reports to Swap Data Repositories and Real-Time Public Reporting 

The proposed rules would require swap dealers and major swap participants to report their swaps in accordance 

with real-time public reporting rules (proposed by the Commission on November 19) and swap data rules 

(proposed by the Commission on November 19).