Commodity Futures Trading Commission 

 Office of Public Affairs 

 Three Lafayette Centre 

 1155 21st Street, NW 

 Washington, DC 20581 

 www.cftc.gov

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

Q & A – Core Principles and Other 

Requirements for Swap Execution Facilities 

What is a SEF? 

Under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Congress amended 

the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) to add a definition for swap execution facilities (SEFs), creating markets for 

the execution of swaps on trading systems or platforms that enable eligible contract participants to trade on a 

multilateral basis. 

Who is affected by the proposed rulemaking? 

The proposed rulemaking affects: trading systems and platforms for the trading of swaps, market participants 

trading swaps, intermediaries facilitating the trading of swaps and other registered entities or registrants under the 

CEA. 

How did the Dodd-Frank Act amend the CEA, as applicable to SEFs? 

The relevant sections include: Section 721 (defining SEFs), Section 723 (establishing an execution requirement for 

the trading of swaps on SEFs) and Section 733 (governing the registration and operation of SEFs). The DoddFrank Act amended the CEA: 

• To require that the execution of swaps subject to the clearing requirements under the CEA must occur on a 

SEF or a designated contract market (DCM), except where no SEF or DCM makes the swap available for 

trading. 

• To adopt fifteen core principles for SEFs under Section 733. All applicants must comply with the core 

principles as a condition of obtaining and maintaining their registration as SEFs. The core principles govern 

the general obligations of SEFs, including 

o Trading and products requirements; 

o Compliance obligations; 

o Operational capabilities; 

o Surveillance obligations; and 

o Financial information and resource requirements. 

How does the proposed rulemaking implement the applicable provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act? 

The proposed rulemaking implements the relevant provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act by proposing regulations, 

guidance and acceptable practices applicable to SEFs under Part 37 of Title 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

The proposed regulations, guidance and acceptable practices incorporate the statutory definition, the execution 

requirement and the core principles as applicable to SEFs. 

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

How is SEF registration affected? 

The CEA Part 37 regulations provide procedures and substantive requirements for registration as a SEF: 

• Applicants must file electronically for registration on new Form SEF, which consists of instructions, general 

questions and a list of exhibits (documents and supporting information) necessary for determining whether 

an applicant is able to demonstrate compliance with the core principles, statutory duties and regulations 

adopted by the Commission to implement those requirements. 

• The Commission will review an application for registration as a SEF once it has received a completed 

submission of Form SEF. 

• Upon request of the applicant, and when certain conditions have been met, the Commission may grant 

temporary grandfather relief to qualifying entities that, due to their operations, will be required to register as 

SEFs to continue operating as of the effective date of Part 37. The temporary grandfather relief would be 

optional and would enable a qualifying entity to operate without SEF registration on a short-term basis 

during the pendency of the application review process, if the applicant: 

o files a complete application on the application form, Form SEF; 

o notifies the Commission, at the time of its submission of the application, of its interest in operating 

under the temporary relief; 

o provides transaction data that substantiates that the execution or trading of swaps has occurred and 

continues to occur on the applicant’s trading system or platform at the time the applicant submits 

the request; and 

o provides a certification that the applicant believes that its operation on a temporary basis will meet 

all the requirements of CEA Part 37; 

• The Commission will grant the application if it finds that the SEF is appropriately organized and has the 

capacity to comply with the SEF core principles, SEF registration requirements, the CEA and Commission 

regulations thereunder. 

• The Part 37 regulations further provide procedures for transfer of a SEF registration and for sale of equity 

ownership in a SEF. 

What are some examples of the requirements proposed in the rulemaking? 

• To prevent market disruptions, SEFs must implement trade risk control mechanisms that would operate 

under certain market conditions. 

• SEFs must provide a basic functionality that provides all market participants with the ability to choose 

whether to post firm or indicative quotes to multiple parties, including all other parties participating in the 

SEF. 

• Applicants and registered SEFs must meet specific financial resource requirements and establish operational 

and system safeguard requirements. 

• SEFs need to provide impartial access to market participants for trading on the platform or system. 

• Operational and system safeguards would need to be established. 

How will new SEF provisions be implemented? 

The proposed regulations, guidance and acceptable practices of new Part 37 will be implemented ninety days after 

publication of the final regulations, but the proposal would provide grandfather relief to swap venues that had been 

operating prior to the effective date of the final regulations. An applicant who submits a complete application and 

satisfies other conditions would be able to continue to operate, for a limited period of time, while staff reviews its 

SEF registration application.