H.R. 1256 — Referred from Senate

IIB 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1256 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 13, 2013 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry AN ACT To direct the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to jointly adopt rules setting forth the application to cross-border swaps transactions of certain provisions relating to swaps that were enacted as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Swap Jurisdiction Certainty Act. 2. Joint rulemaking on cross-border swaps (a) Joint rulemaking required (1) In general Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall jointly issue rules setting forth the application of United States swaps requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Commodity Exchange Act relating to cross-border swaps and security-based swaps transactions involving U.S. persons or non-U.S. persons. (2) Construction The rules required under paragraph (1) shall be identical, notwithstanding any difference in the authorities granted the Commissions in section 30(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78dd(c)) and section 2(i) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 2(i)), respectively, except to the extent necessary to accommodate differences in other underlying statutory requirements under such Acts, and the rules thereunder. (b) Considerations The Commissions shall jointly issue rules that address— (1) the nature of the connections to the United States that require a non-U.S. person to register as a swap dealer, major swap participant, security-based swap dealer, or major security-based swap participant under each Commission’s respective Acts and the regulations issued under such Acts; (2) which of the United States swaps requirements shall apply to the swap and security-based swap activities of non-U.S. persons, U.S. persons, and their branches, agencies, subsidiaries, and affiliates outside of the United States and the extent to which such requirements shall apply; and (3) the circumstances under which a non-U.S. person in compliance with the regulatory requirements of a foreign jurisdiction shall be exempt from United States swaps requirements. (c) Rule in accordance with APA required No guidance, memorandum of understanding, or any such other agreement may satisfy the requirement to issue a joint rule from the Commissions in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code. (d) General application to countries or administrative regions having nine largest markets (1) General application In issuing rules under this section, the Commissions shall provide that a non-U.S. person in compliance with the swaps regulatory requirements of a country or administrative region that has one of the nine largest combined swap and security-based swap markets by notional amount in the calendar year preceding issuance of such rules, or other foreign jurisdiction as jointly determined by the Commissions, shall be exempt from United States swaps requirements in accordance with the schedule set forth in paragraph (2), unless the Commissions jointly determine that the regulatory requirements of such country or administrative region or other foreign jurisdiction are not broadly equivalent to United States swaps requirements. (2) Effective date schedule The exemption described in paragraph (1) and set forth under the rules required by this section shall apply to persons or transactions relating to or involving— (A) countries or administrative regions described in such paragraph, or any other foreign jurisdiction as jointly determined by the Commissions, accounting for the five largest combined swap and security-based swap markets by notional amount in the calendar year preceding issuance of such rules, on the date on which final rules are issued under this section; and (B) the remaining countries or administrative regions described in such paragraph, and any other foreign jurisdiction as jointly determined by the Commissions, 1 year after the date on which such rules are issued. (3) Criteria In such rules, the Commissions shall jointly establish criteria for determining that one or more categories of regulatory requirements of a country or administrative region described in paragraph (1) or other foreign jurisdiction is not broadly equivalent to United States swaps requirements and shall jointly determine the appropriate application of certain United States swap requirements to persons or transactions relating to or involving such country or administrative region or other foreign jurisdiction. Such criteria shall include the scope and objectives of the regulatory requirements of a country or administrative region described in paragraph (1) or other foreign jurisdiction as well as the effectiveness of the supervisory compliance program administered, and the enforcement authority exercised, by such country or administrative region or other foreign jurisdiction, and such other factors as the Commissions, by rule, jointly determine to be necessary or appropriate in the public interest. (4) Required assessment Beginning on the date on which final rules are issued under this section, the Commissions shall begin to jointly assess the regulatory requirements of countries or administrative regions described in paragraph (1), as the Commissions jointly determine appropriate, in accordance with the criteria established pursuant to this subsection, to determine if one or more categories of regulatory requirements of such a country or administrative region or other foreign jurisdiction is not broadly equivalent to United States swaps requirements. (e) Report to Congress If the Commissions make the joint determination described in subsection (d)(1) that the regulatory requirements of a country or administrative region described in such subsection or other foreign jurisdiction are not broadly equivalent to United States swaps requirements, the Commissions shall articulate the basis for such a determination in a written report transmitted to the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate within 30 days of the determination. The determination shall not be effective until the transmission of such report. (f) Definitions As used in this Act and for purposes of the rules issued pursuant to this Act, the following definitions apply: (1) The term U.S. person— (A) means— (i) any natural person resident in the United States; (ii) any partnership, corporation, trust, or other legal person organized or incorporated under the laws of the United States or having its principal place of business in the United States; (iii) any account (whether discretionary or non-discretionary) of a U.S. person; and (iv) any other person as the Commissions may further jointly define to more effectively carry out the purposes of this Act; and (B) does not include the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the United Nations, their agencies and pension plans, and any other similar international organizations and their agencies and pension plans. (2) The term United States swaps requirements means the provisions relating to swaps and security-based swaps contained in the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a et seq.) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) that were added by title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.) and any rules or regulations prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission pursuant to such provisions. (g) Conforming amendments (1) Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Section 36(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78mm(c)) is amended by inserting or except as necessary to effectuate the purposes of the Swap Jurisdiction Certainty Act, after to grant exemptions,. (2) Commodity Exchange Act Section 4(c)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6(c)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting or except as necessary to effectuate the purposes of the Swap Jurisdiction Certainty Act, after to grant exemptions,. Passed the House of Representatives June 12, 2013. Karen L. Haas, Clerk