Commodity Futures Trading Commission 

 Office of Public Affairs 

 Three Lafayette Centre 

 1155 21st Street, NW 

 Washington, DC 20581 

 www.cftc.gov

Final Rule Regarding Removal of References 

to Credit Ratings from Commission Regulations 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) has published a final rule in the Federal 

Register that amends existing Commission regulations by removing certain references to—and requirements of 

reliance on—credit ratings. The final rule implements provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

Consumer Protection Act. 

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

On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 

Act. Among other things, the Dodd-Frank Act requires Federal agencies to: 

• Review their regulations that require the use of a credit-worthiness assessment of a security or money 

market instrument; 

• Remove any reference to or reliance on credit ratings in those regulations and substitute an appropriate 

standard of credit-worthiness; 

• Work to develop uniform standards of credit-worthiness; and 

• Report to Congress after the completion of the rulemaking process. 

Removal of References to Credit Ratings from Regulations 

The Commission completed the required review of its regulations and published in the Federal Register a proposal 

to amend certain of the Commission’s regulations. The Commission invited the public to comment on the 

proposal, and after considering the comments received, the Commission published a final rule that removes the 

certain credit ratings references and substitutes them with alternative standards as follows: 

CFTC Regulation 1.49 – General Regulations Under the Commodity Exchange Act – Denomination of 

Customer Funds and Location of Depositories, Qualifications for Depositories: The Commission has 

removed the clause in this regulation that previously allowed the placement of customer funds in a foreign 

depository based on the depository’s issuance of highly-rated commercial paper or long term debt instruments. As 

an alternative, the Commission will rely solely on the standard that customer funds be placed only in a foreign 

depository that has in excess of $1 billion of regulatory capital. 

CFTC Regulation 4.24 – Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors – General 

Disclosures Required; Investment Program and Use of Proceeds: The Commission has removed the reference 

to “investment rating” in this regulation and has substituted it with phrase “credit-worthiness.” 

The notice published in the Federal Register notes other references to credit ratings that are being removed or 

amended in other Commission rulemakings: 

• CFTC Regulation 1.25 – Investment of Customer Funds 

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

• CFTC Regulation 30.7 - Treatment of Foreign Futures or Foreign Options Secured Amount 

• Appendix A to Part 40- Application for Designation of Physical Delivery Futures Contracts and Application 

for Cash Settled Futures Contracts 

In implementing the directives of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Commission has worked to develop uniform standards 

of credit-worthiness by engaging in consultation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve, and other regulators. The Commission will continue to work with the federal interagency community 

towards the goal of developing and maintaining uniform standards of credit-worthiness, to the extent feasible, in the 

future.