On November 13,
19 and 24, 2008, CME and CBOT self-certified rule changes in connection with the substantial
harmonization of NYMEX and COMEX clearing, disciplinary, arbitration and electronic trading rules
with CME and CBOT rules. This document provides information concerning the
changes to CME and CBOT rules that are being implemented on December 4. Unless otherwise noted, the changes apply to both the
CME and CBOT versions of the cited rules.
The rules are
presented below, with additions underscored and deletions overstruck.
CBOT Rule
127
In order to
streamline the rule change approval process solely with respect to clearing-related rules, the CBOT
is adopting an amendment to Rule 230.j. which eliminates the right of the CBOT Directors to review
changes to these rules prior to their being reviewed by the Clearing House Risk Committee and
approved by the Approving Officers.
230. GENERAL
The Board
shall, subject to applicable provisions in the relevant corporate charter and bylaws:
[a. – i. are
unchanged.]
j.
(i)
.
Make and amend the Rules of the Exchange; provided, the Board has also delegated such
authority to make and amend the Rules of the Exchange to the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the
Board and the Chief Executive Officer acting together, provided, further, that the CBOT Directors
(as defined in the Certificate of Incorporation) retain their rights for advance notice of such new
and amended Rules and their right to submit such new and amended Rules to the Rule Change Committee
(as defined in the Certificate of Incorporation) as set forth in Article IV, Section D(2)(e) of the
Certificate of Incorporation prior to approval by the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board and
the Chief Executive Officer;
(ii)
.
Notwithstanding Rule 230.j.
(i).
, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board
and the Chief Executive Officer acting together may amend
Rule 403 and the rules in
Chapters 8 and 9
,
with the exception of the
following rules
,
without providing the CBOT Directors with
advance notice of any such amendments and without providing the CBOT Directors with any right to
submit such amendments to the Rule Change
Committee, as set forth in Article IV,
Section D(2)(e) of the Certificate of Incorporation
: Rule
s
800
,
807, 813, 850-851, 853-855,
900,
931
-932, 950-954, 956-958, 960.B.
and 974.B.
;
and
[The remainder of the rule is unchanged.]
300.
COMMITTEES
The duties of non-Board level committees are to review
investigation reports prepared by Exchange staff, conduct hearings and/or advise and assist the
Board and perform the specific duties assigned to them elsewhere in these Rules, in their charters
or by the Board. The Board may refer to a committee any matter within
the committee’s jurisdiction and it shall be the duty of the committee to meet, consider the matter
and make a complete report to the Board.
The Chairman may appoint Exchange members or employees of
member firms and non-members to all non-Board level committees to serve during the Chairman's term
of office and until new committees are appointed
and approved
. The Chairman may at any time remove any member of a
committee, with or without cause, and all vacancies shall be filled as in the case of an original
appointment.
Unless otherwise provided in the Rules, a quorum of a
non-Board level committee shall consist of a majority of the members of a committee or a committee
panel, excluding the vice-chairman, if any. The chairman of a non-Board level committee, or
another individual acting in the capacity of the chairman, may vote only to make or break a tie
vote unless otherwise provided in the Rules.
No more than one member of a single broker association
may serve on
a panel of
an adjudicatory committee.
[The remainder of the rule is unchanged.]
401.
THE CHIEF REGULATORY OFFICER
It shall be the duty of the Chief Regulatory Officer to
enforce Exchange rules, and he shall have available to him at all times the resources of the Market
Regulation Department and such other Exchange resources as may be necessary to conduct
investigations of alleged rule violations and market conditions. The Chief Regulatory Officer shall have the authority
to inspect the books and records of all Members and the authority to require any Member to appear
before him and produce his or its books and records and answer questions regarding alleged
violations of Exchange rules
, at the time, place
and in the
manner he designates
. The Chief Regulatory Officer may also delegate such
authority to staff of the Market Regulation Department.
Rule 402
In harmonizing
the disciplinary rules across CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX, the authority of each exchange’s Business
Conduct Committee (“BCC”) has been expanded to provide each the ability to restrict their members
from access to the other CME Group exchanges. CME and CBOT have also adopted a force majeure
provision into Section C. modeled on a provision in existing NYMEX rules.
402.
BUSINESS CONDUCT COMMITTEE
402.A.
Jurisdiction and General Provisions
[The first paragraph is unchanged.]
The BCC shall act through a Panel composed of a chairman,
three Exchange members or employees of member firms and three non-members. A quorum of a Panel shall consist of a majority of
the panel, but must include at least
the chairman,
two members or employees of member firms and two non-members.
[The third and fourth paragraphs are unchanged.]
All information
, records, materials
and documents provided to the BCC and all deliberations
, testimony, information, records, materials
and documents related thereto shall be treated as non-public and confidential and shall not
be disclosed, except as necessary to further an Exchange investigation or as required by
law.
402.B.
Hearings
Hearings by the BCC shall be before a Panel, and shall be
conducted by a chairman of the BCC in accordance with the provisions of Rule
408.
If a Member is found guilty, by a majority vote, the
Panel may do one or more of the following:
1. Order the Member to cease and desist
from the conduct found to be in violation of the
se
rules
, the rules of any other exchange owned or controlled by CME Group, or the
Commodity Exchange Act
;
2. Order the Clearing Member or other
Member to liquidate such portion of the open contracts in the Clearing Member’s or other Member’s
proprietary or customers’ accounts, or both, as the Panel deems appropriate to ensure the integrity
of Exchange contracts or to ensure an orderly and liquid market;
3. Order the Clearing Member or its
customer to deposit such additional performance bonds with the Clearing House as the Panel deems
appropriate to protect the integrity of open contracts;
4. Prescribe such additional capital or
other financial requirements as it deems appropriate;
5. Restrict the privilege of being
affiliated with,
employed by
or having an interest in, a broker association or guaranteed introducing broker and/or
suspend the trading floor access and/or the right to associate with a Member;
6. Restrict the Member’s access to the
Globex platform
or a
ny other trading or clearing
platform
owned or controlled by CME
Group
or to supervise the entry of any orders into
such
the Globex
platform
s
by others;
7. Restrict the Member’s access to
the combined CBOT and CME
any
trading
floors
floor owned or controlled by CME Group
;
8. Restrict the Member’s ability to
trade or enter orders in any or all
Exchange
products
of any exchange owned or controlled by CME Group
;
9. Suspend any or all of the privileges
of membership;
10. Expel the member;
11. Impose a fine upon the Member not to exceed $1,000,000
per violation plus the amount of any benefit received as a result of the violation;
12. Issue a reprimand;
13. Prescribe limitations on positions of the Member as
may be appropriate;
14. Impose advertising restrictions upon the Member
pursuant to these rules; and/or
15. Direct the Member to make restitution, in such amount
as is warranted by the evidence, to the account of any party damaged by the conduct, or to the
Clearing Member who has previously made restitution to the account of such party.
16. Revoke the regularity status of a regular firm
. [16 appears only in CBOT Rule
402.B.]
[The remainder of Section B. is unchanged.]
402.C.
Emergency Actions
1. The BCC is authorized to determine
whether an emergency exists and whether emergency action is warranted. The following events and/or conditions may constitute
emergencies:
a. Any actual, attempted, or threatened
market manipulation;
b. Any actual, attempted, or threatened
corner, squeeze, congestion, or undue concentration of positions;
c. Any action taken by the United
States or any foreign government or any state or local government body, any other contract market,
board of trade, or any other exchange or trade association (foreign or domestic), which may have a
direct impact on trading on the Exchange;
d. The actual or threatened bankruptcy
or insolvency of any Member or the imposition of any injunction or other restraint by any
government agency, self regulatory organization, court or arbitrator upon a Member which may affect
the ability of that Member to perform on its contracts;
e. Any circumstance in which it appears
that a Member or any other person or entity has failed to perform contracts or is in such financial
or operational condition or is conducting business in such a manner that such person or entity
cannot be permitted to continue in business without jeopardizing the safety of customer funds,
Members, or the Exchange;
and/or
f.
Any other circumstance which may have a severe, adverse effect upon the
functioning of the Exchange.
Force majeure, which
shall mean any circumstance (including but not
limited to a strike, lockout, national emergency, governmental action, or act of God) which is
beyond the control of the buyer or seller, and which prevents the buyer or seller from making or
taking delivery of product or effecting payment when and as provided for in
Exchange
rules; and/or
g.
Any other circumstance which
may have a severe, adverse effect upon the functioning of the Exchange.
[The remainder of Section C. is unchanged.]
402.D.
Actions against Non-Members
If the BCC
or Market Regulation Department
has reason to believe or suspect that any non-member is conducting trading activities in
violation of the Commodity Exchange Act or Exchange rules or in a manner that threatens the
integrity or liquidity of any contract, the committee
or Market Regulation Department
may request such non-member and require any Members to appear, produce documents and
testify at a Market Regulation Department interview or investigation, or hearing to be conducted by
the BCC.
If, after
the
hearing, the BCC determines that the actions of such non-member threaten the integrity or
liquidity of any contract or threaten to violate or violate the Commodity Exchange Act or Exchange
rules, the BCC may:
1. Order any Clearing Member to
liquidate all or any portion of such non-member’s position;
2. Order that no Clearing Member accept
new positions on behalf of any such non-member;
3. Deny
, limit
or terminate access
of such non-member
to the Globex platform
or any other trading or clearing platform owned or controlled by CME
Group
of such non-member
; and/or
4. Order such action as is necessary to
prevent a threat to the contract or violation of the Commodity Exchange Act or Exchange
rules.
Rule 406
Rule 406 has
been modified to codify existing practices with respect to 1) the Market Regulation Department not
being required to inform respondents of Market Regulation’s intent to appear before the Probable
Cause Committee (“PCC”) to seek charges and 2) respondents not having a right to make a written
submission to the PCC. NYMEX rules allowed for Members to appear before its
equivalent of the Probable Cause Committee, and the amendments are intended to avoid any ambiguity
regarding these practices under the harmonized disciplinary structure.
406.
PROBABLE CAUSE COMMITTEE
The Probable Cause Committee (“PCC”) shall receive and
review investigation reports from the Market Regulation Department. The PCC shall act through a Panel comprised of a
chairman, three Exchange members or employees of member firms and three non-members. A quorum of a Panel shall consist of a majority of
the Panel, but must include at least
the chairman,
two members or employees of member firms and two non-members.
The Market Regulation Department is not required to
provide notice of its intent to appear before the PCC to request charges.
Each Panel shall consist of panelists who possess
sufficiently diverse interests so as to ensure fairness.
The PCC shall have the power to compel any Member to
appear before it and to produce all books and records relevant to the subject matter under
investigation. No Member
or subject of an investigation
shall have the right to appear before the PCC
.
or make any written submission on his behalf.
A Panel shall endeavor to review an investigation report
prepared by the Market Regulation Department within 30 days of receipt of a report the Panel deems
to be complete. The Panel shall, by majority vote, take one of the
following actions: If the Panel determines that disciplinary action is
unwarranted it shall direct that no further action be taken or that a warning letter be issued. If the Panel determines that a reasonable basis
exists for finding that a violation of an Exchange rule may have occurred which may warrant
disciplinary action, it shall issue appropriate charges. The Panel shall direct the Market Regulation
Department to give notice of the charges to the respondent in accordance with Rule 407.B. and to
the appropriate BCC Panel chairman.
The Market Regulation Department may appeal to the Board
any refusal by a Panel to issue those charges requested by the Market Regulation Department. If such an appeal is requested, the Board shall
conduct a hearing on the matter in accordance with the procedures in Rule 411.
No person shall serve on the PCC unless he has agreed in
writing that he will not publish, divulge or make known in any manner, any facts or information
regarding the business of any person or entity or any other information which may come to his
attention in his official capacity as a member of the PCC, except when reporting to the Board or to
a committee concerned with such information or to the Legal Department or Market Regulation
Department, when requested by the CFTC or other governmental agency or when compelled to testify in
any judicial or administrative proceeding.
All information
, records, materials
and documents provided to the PCC and all deliberations
, testimony, information, records, materials
and documents related thereto shall be treated as non-public and confidential and shall not
be disclosed, except as necessary to further an Exchange investigation or as required by
law.
407.
INITIAL INVESTIGATION, ASSIGNMENT FOR HEARING AND NOTICE OF CHARGES
The Market Regulation Department shall investigate
alleged rule violations. Investigations and all information and documents
obtained during the course of an investigation shall be treated as non-public and confidential and
shall not be disclosed, except as necessary to further an Exchange investigation or as required by
law. The Market Regulation Department is authorized to
take
record
ed
interviews
of Members
conducted
pursuant to an Exchange investigation.
The Market Regulation Department may take oral
depositions of witnesses during an investigation. The Member under investigation shall be given at
least five days written notice of the time of the deposition and place where the witness will be
deposed, which may be at any location within the United States. The Member under investigation shall have the right
to be present in person or by representative at the oral deposition, with right of cross‑e
xamination. All oral depositions of witnesses shall be taken
under oath, before an officer qualified in the place of the deposition to administer oaths, and the
complete testimony of the witnesses shall be transcribed by such officer or by a person under his
supervision. Oral depositions taken in accordance with this rule
shall be admissible in evidence at any hearing of the Board of Directors or a committee, reserving
to the Member under investigation the right to object at the hearing to the relevancy or
materiality of the testimony contained therein.
Upon conclusion of an investigation, the Market
Regulation Department may issue a warning letter to the Member under investigation. Such letter shall not constitute either the finding
of a rule violation or a penalty.
If the Market Regulation Department has reasonable cause
to believe an offense has occurred which should be dealt with by a panel of the BCC (“BCC Panel”),
it shall request a panel of the PCC (“PCC Panel”) to convene to consider its recommendation for
charges. The Market Regulation Department’s presentation to
the PCC Panel shall not constitute an ex parte communication as described in Rule 417.
407.A.
Investigation File
The Market Regulation Department shall
maintain a file once an investigation is initiated. The file shall include any materials in the
possession of the Market Regulation Department that may be relevant to the conduct being
investigated.
A member charged with a violation of the rules shall have the right to review
the evidence in the investigation file relevant to the issued charges but shall not be entitled to
review privileged work product and attorney-cli
ent communications.
In any matter in which a PCC Panel issues charges, the investigation file shall
include an investigation report prepared by the Market Regulation Department.
A member charged with a violation of the rules shall have the right to review
the evidence in the investigation file relevant to the issued charges, provided, however, that
protected attorney work product, attorney-client communications and investigative work product,
including, but not limited to, the investigation report and any exception reports, are
The investigation report is privileged work product and is
neither discoverable by a respondent in disciplinary proceedings nor subject to review by a
respondent as part of the investigation file. Production of the investigation report to a PCC Panel
shall not constitute a waiver of the
protected and/or
privileged nature of
the investigation
such
report.
[The remainder of the rule is unchanged.]
408.
CONDUCT OF HEARINGS
408.A.
General
All disciplinary proceedings conducted before a panel of
the BCC or before a hearing panel of the Board of Directors (collectively, “Panel”) shall be
conducted in accordance with the following procedures. Hearings shall be fair. The respondent shall have the right to appear
personally at the hearing and to be represented by legal counsel or a member of the Exchange, other
than a member of the charging or hearing committee, a member of the Board
, a potential respondent or witness,
or an employee of the Exchange. The Panel or its chairman shall have the power to
compel any Member to attend, testify and/or produce evidence in connection with the hearing.
The BCC’s counsel shall, in writing, notify the respondent of the names of
the persons on the Panel at least
seven
days in advance of the originally scheduled
hearing date.
Parties to the hearing may request the Panel chairman to strike any panelist for good
cause shown. The Panel chairman may then excuse such panelist and
direct that an alternate panelist be appointed.
408.B.
Pre-Hearing
1. Procedural and Evidentiary
Matters
The Panel chairman may require a pre-hearing
conference.
The Panel chairman shall have the authority to decide all
procedural and evidentiary matters and all pre-hearing motions, and the chairman’s decision shall
be final. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a motion to
dismiss any or all of the charges may be granted only by the Panel. The Market Regulation Department may appeal to the
Board any decision of the Panel to grant such a motion. If such an appeal is requested, the Board shall
conduct a hearing on the matter in accordance with the procedures in Rule 411.
Pre-hearing motions must be submitted in writing to the
BCC’s counsel and a copy shall also be provided to the Market Regulation Department. Motions to dismiss any or all of the charges must be
submitted at least 21 days in advance of the originally scheduled hearing date and a copy shall
also be provided to the Market Regulation Department. Upon receipt, the Market Regulation Department shall
have seven days to submit a written response to the BCC’s counsel, and shall provide a copy to the
respondent.
Any pre-hearing motions not specifically covered by these rules must be filed
at least five business days in advance of the hearing.
Prior to the hearing, the respondent may examine all
evidence which is to be relied upon by the Market Regulation Department during the hearing, or
which is relevant to the charges. However, the respondent shall not be entitled to
examine
protected attorney
privileged
work product, attorney-client communications or
the
investigati
ve
on report
work product, including, but not limited to, the investigation report and any
exceptions reports
. The respondent may obtain a copy of all such
evidence, and any copying costs shall be the sole responsibility of the respondent. A respondent who seeks documents that are not in the
possession of the Market Regulation Department may request the documents from their custodian. The Market Regulation Department is not required to
produce or obtain any documents that are not in its possession. Upon a showing of good cause, the respondent may
petition the Panel chairman to compel the production of documents by a custodian, provided that the
custodian is subject to the jurisdiction of the Exchange, the custodian has refused voluntarily to
provide the documents, and the documents are relevant to the charges. The Market Regulation Department may object, in whole
or in part, to any such petition.
[The remainder of Section B. is unchanged.]
408.C.
Settlement Offers
A respondent that is the subject of an investigation or
charges may submit for consideration by the Panel a written offer of settlement in disposition of
such investigation or charges. However, the CHRC will determine whether to accept or
reject any settlement offer with respect to charges issued by the CHRC submitted more than 14 days
before a scheduled BCC hearing, pursuant to Rule 403.B.
A respondent may submit a settlement offer without
admitting or denying the rule violations upon which the penalty is based; provided, however, that
an offer must include a consent to entry of findings by the Panel regarding the conduct and rule
violations at issue and to the penalty to be imposed.
If the Market Regulation Department does not oppose the
respondent’s offer of settlement, the respondent’s written offer of settlement and the Market
Regulation Department’s supporting statement shall be submitted to the Panel for consideration.
If the Market Regulation Department opposes the
respondent’s offer of settlement, then following the issuance of any charges by the PCC, the
respondent may submit a written offer of settlement for consideration by the Panel
no less than 14 days in advance of the originally scheduled hearing date. If a respondent submits an offer less than 14 days
before a scheduled hearing date, or after the hearing has commenced, the offer shall not be
considered unless agreed by the parties
. In considering whether to accept the respondent’s
offer, the Panel shall examine the respondent’s written offer of settlement and the Market
Regulation Department’s written opposition thereto.
The respondent may withdraw his offer at any time prior
to final acceptance of the offer by the Panel. If the Panel accepts the offer, a written decision
setting forth the Panel’s findings and sanction shall be issued, and written notice of the decision
shall be given to the respondent.
If the Panel rejects the offer, the respondent will be
notified of the rejection and the offer will be deemed withdrawn. If an offer is withdrawn or rejected by the Panel,
the respondent shall not be deemed to have made any admissions by reason of the offer and shall not
otherwise be prejudiced by having submitted the offer.
The Panel chairman may decline to convene the Panel to
consider a settlement offer. Upon consent by the respondent, any hearing that
follows a rejected settlement offer will be heard by the same Panel.
In submitting a settlement offer, the respondent waives
his right to a hearing and to appeal the Panel’s decision if the offer is accepted; the respondent
also waives any claim of bias or prejudgment on the part of the Panel.
If a respondent submits an offer within 14 days of a scheduled hearing on the
charges, or after the hearing has begun, the offer shall not stay the hearing unless otherwise
determined by the Panel chairman.
[The remainder of the rule is unchanged.]
410.
HEARINGS BEFORE A HEARING PANEL OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Whenever a hearing is scheduled to be held before a
hearing panel of the Board (“Panel”), the Chairman of the Board shall appoint a director to serve
as the Panel chairman, who shall conduct the hearing, and two additional directors to serve on the
Panel. One of these directors shall be a non-member. A majority decision by the Panel shall be considered
the action of the Board as a whole.
This rule shall not create any right to a hearing before a Panel that is not
otherwise provided for in other rules of the Exchange.
T
he Chairman of the Board shall determine
, in his sole discretion,
whether sufficient grounds exist to hold a
hearing
with respect to any matter that
is not addressed by other Exchange rules.
Each Panel that conducts a hearing or proceeding shall
consist of directors that possess sufficiently diverse interests so as to ensure fairness. In a disciplinary matter, the hearing shall be
conducted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 408.
No member of the Board may serve on a particular Panel if
he participated on the charging committee or has a personal, financial or other direct interest in
the matter under consideration or is a member of the same broker association as the
respondent.
411.
APPEAL TO A HEARING PANEL OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Market Regulation Department may request an appeal to
a hearing panel of the Board (“Appellate Panel”) regarding a
n
y
final
decision of or sanction imposed by the BCC, or any refusal by the PCC to issue those
charges requested by the Market Regulation Department, by filing a request for an appeal with the
Exchange Legal Department within 10 business days after receiving notice of such decision, sanction
or refusal. Filing of a request for an appeal by the Market
Regulation Department shall stay any decision that is appealed unless the Chairman of the Board or
the chairman of the BCC Panel from which the appeal is taken specifically directs that the decision
is not stayed pending appeal.
A Member found guilty of an offense or otherwise
aggrieved by a
disciplinary
final
decision of the BCC, may, within 10 business days of being provided notice of any such
decision, unless specifically prohibited, request an appeal to an Appellate Panel provided that the
decision assesses a monetary sanction greater than $10,000 and/or an access denial or suspension of
any membership privileges for greater than five business days against the Member. Filing of a request for an appeal by a Member shall
stay the decision appealed unless the Market Regulation Department objects to such a stay and the
Chairman of the Board or the chairman of the BCC Panel from which the appeal is taken specifically
directs that the decision is not stayed pending appeal.
[The remainder of the rule is unchanged.]
412.
SUMMARY ACTION
In cases of action taken against a Member pursuant to
Rules 976 or 977, the Member affected shall be notified in writing of such action. The notice shall state: the action taken; the reason
for action; and the effective time, date and duration thereof.
The Member may, within two business days following
receipt of notice of action taken, request a hearing before a hearing panel of the Board (“Panel”)
pursuant to Rule 410
. The hearing shall be conducted within 60 days of such
request, in accordance with the requirements of Rule 408, unless the chairman of the Panel
determines that good cause for an extension has been shown, but shall not stay any action taken
pursuant to Rules 976 or 977.
[The remainder of the rule is unchanged.]
Rule 413
Similar to the
changes made to Rule 402, Rule 413 has been amended to provide the Chief Regulatory Officers the
ability to deny any party access to any or all CME Group markets, electronic trading and clearing
platforms and to deny members access to the CME Group trading floors in circumstances where the
Chief Regulatory Officer determines such immediate action is necessary to protect the best
interests of the exchanges.
413.
SUMMARY ACCESS DENIAL ACTIONS
413.A.
Authority to Deny Access
Members may be
: (1)
denied access to any or all
CBOT and
CME
Group
markets
;
or
(2)
be
denied access to the Globex platform
; (3) denied access to any other electronic trading or clearing platform
owned or controlled by CME Group
;
or
(
4
)
be immediately removed from
the combined CBOT and
any
CME
trading floor
s
owned or controlled by CME Group
,
by the Chief Regulatory Officer or his delegate upon a good faith determination that
there are substantial reasons to believe that such immediate action is necessary to protect the
best interests of the Exchange.
Non-members may be denied access to any or all CME Group markets or be denied
access to the Globex platform
or any other electronic trading
or clearing platform owned or controlled by CME Group
by the Chief Regulatory Officer or his
delegate upon a good faith determination that there are substantial reasons to believe that such
immediate action is necessary to protect the best interests of the Exchange.
[The remainder of the rule is unchanged.]
432.
GENERAL OFFENSES
[A. – X. are unchanged.]
Y. to improperly use the Globex
platform
or any electronic trading or clearing platform owned or controlled by CME
Group
or permit the unauthorized use of
the Globex
such
platform
s
; and/or
[The remainder of the rule is unchanged.]
Rule 433
New Rule 433 (“
Strict Liability for the Acts of Agents”) is based on a comparable provision in the Commodity
Exchange Act and allows a disciplinary committee to find, if warranted, that a Member is strictly
liable for the acts, omissions or failures of any official, agent or other person acting for the
Member within the scope of his employment or office. This provision is in addition to the existing
requirement that Members diligently supervise their employees and agents pursuant to Rule
432.W.
433.
-434.
[RESERVED]
STRICT LIABILITY
FOR THE ACTS OF AGENTS
Pursuant to Section 2(a)(1)(
B
) of the Commodity Exchange Act, and
notwithstanding Rule 432.W., the act, omission, or failure of any official, agent, or other person
acting for any Member within the scope of his employment or office shall be deemed the act,
omission or failure of the Member, as well as of the official, agent or other person who committed
the act.
434.
[RESERVED]
435.
EFFECT OF SUSPENSION OR EXPULSION
The effects of a suspension or expulsion from membership
shall apply to all
Exchange
CME Group
markets in which the suspended or expelled member
is eligible to trade
has membership privileges
.
Unless otherwise determined by the committee with
jurisdiction over such matters, a suspended or expelled Member shall not be entitled to any of the
privileges of membership during the period of such suspension or expulsion, including, but not
limited to, the right to:
A. access
the Exchange
any trading
floor
owned or controlled by CME Group
;
B. access
or
the Globex platform
or any other electronic trading or clearing platform owned or controlled by
CME Group
;
B
C
. obtain member rates;
C
D
. any applicable cross-exchange trading privileges; and
D
E
. lease out an owned membership.
44
4
.
SANCTIONS AND RESTITUTION ORDERS
Members and Member Firms
may, subject to a determination
by the sanctioning entity, be liable
for unpaid fines or
unpaid
restitution
orders
imposed upon
their
e
mployees
.
536.
RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR PIT, GLOBEX, AND NEGOTIATED TRADES
[Section
A. is unchanged.]
536.B.
Globex Order Entry
1. General Requirement
Each Globex
terminal operator entering orders into Globex shall
input for each order
: a)
sign onto the Globex system before entering orders by inputting
the user ID assigned him by
the Exchange
CME
, a clearing member or other authorized entity and b)
input for each order
the price, quantity, product, expiration month, CTI code and account number (except as
provided in Section C.), and, for options, put or call and strike price. The Globex terminal
operator’s user ID must be present on each order entered. For a Globex terminal operator with access pursuant
to Rule 574, clearing members authorizing such access will be responsible for the Globex terminal
operator’s compliance with this rule.
[The remainder
of the rule is unchanged.]
Rule 802
Rule 802 has
been modified to clarify that there is a single Clearing House, the CME Clearing House, and a
single security deposit pool of funds for all four exchanges.
802.
PROTECTION OF CLEARING HOUSE
802.A. Default by Clearing Member and Other Participating
Exchanges
1.
Default by Clearing
Member
If a clearing
member of CME, CBOT, NYMEX or COMEX fails promptly to discharge any obligation to the CME
or NYMEX
Clearing House
s
, it shall be in default. If a clearing member is in default, its security deposit
(pursuant to Rule 816), its performance bonds on deposit with the Clearing House, the proceeds of
the sale of any membership and Class A Shares assigned to it for clearing qualification, and any
other assets held by, pledged to or otherwise available to the Clearing House, shall be applied by
the Clearing House to discharge the obligation. For purposes of this rule, each default by an
individual clearing member will be considered a separate default event.
[The remainder
of Section A. is unchanged.]
802.B. Satisfaction of Clearing House Obligations
If the Clearing
House is unable to immediately satisfy all claims against it including, but not limited to, costs
associated with the liquidation, transfer and managing of positions, arising out of: 1) its
substitution (pursuant to Rule 804) for a defaulting clearing member or a defaulting Participating
Exchange, or a defaulting Partner Clearinghouse; 2) a shortfall in a crossmargining program; 3) the
failure of a depository, exchange or market apart from the Exchange but whose transactions are
cleared pursuant to the provisions of Chapters 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E or 8F; 4) for any other cause, then
such claim or obligation shall be met and made good promptly by the use and application of funds
from the following sources in the order of priority hereafter listed. Each source of funds set
forth below shall be completely exhausted, to the extent practicable, before the next following
source is applied.
1. Surplus funds of the Exchange in excess of
funds necessary for normal operations.
2. The amount of security deposit
required under Rule 816 from all classes of clearing members shall be applied toward meeting said
loss, in direct proportion to the total security deposit requirement of each clearing member.
In addition, solely for purposes of
satisfying a clearing member
default described in this rule, the CME security deposit pool
of funds shall be combined with
the proceeds in the New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.
(NYMEX) Guaranty Fund
(as described in NYMEX Rule
9.03) to establish a single
security deposit/Guaranty Fund
pool of funds.
Notwithstanding the above, the initial draw under this section 2 of the rule shall be
in an amount up to any applicable insurance policy deductible then in place with the
Exchange;
[The remainder
of Section B. with the exception of the last paragraph is unchanged.]
To the extent
that, and irrespective of the fact that, the Exchange has default insurance coverage in effect at
the time of an event of default, the Exchange may nevertheless continue to utilize the resources
under the priority outlined in Rule 802.B.1, B.2,
B.3.
and B.5. for immediate liquidity while awaiting any insurance proceeds. Any insurance
proceeds so recovered by the Exchange, to the extent not required by the Exchange to cure a
default, will be applied to the credit of the non-defaulting clearing members.
[The remainder
of the rule is unchanged.]
Rule
804
The
rule has been modified to eliminate legacy references to CME Auction Markets and former Rule
8D38.
804.
SUBSTITUTION
Except with
respect to trades made pursuant to Rules 526, 538 and 853,
and transactions entered into under CME AM and CME Rule 8D38,
the Clearing House shall, through the process of novation, be substituted as, and assume
the position of, seller to the buyer and buyer to the seller of the relevant number of Exchange or
Marketplace contracts upon the successful matching of trade data submitted to the Clearing House by
the clearing members on the long and short sides of a trade. With respect to contracts that are
traded on and matched by another exchange or market, the Clearing House shall be substituted as,
and assume the position of, seller to buyer and buyer to seller of the relevant number of such
contracts upon matching of trade data submitted to and accepted by the Clearing House.
Upon such
substitution, each clearing member shall be deemed to have bought the contracts from or sold the
contracts to the Clearing House, as the case may be, and the Clearing House shall have all the
rights and be subject to all the liabilities of such member with respect to such transaction. Such
substitution shall be effective in law for all purposes.
With regard to
trades made pursuant to Rules 526, 538 and 853, the Clearing House shall be substituted at the time
payment of the first settlement variation and performance bond due for such trades pursuant to Rule
814 is confirmed by the appropriate settlement bank for both members.
With respect to trades made pursuant to CME Rule 8D38 (Finality), the
Clearing House shall assume the obligation to perform when the results of an Auction are final as
set forth in the CME AM rules.
Footnotes from
CBOT Rule 902 concerning Clearing Closely Held Corporate Members and Clearing Corporate Members
have been moved to Rule 900 as this is the first time they are cited in the Chapter.
900.
CATEGORIES OF CLEARING MEMBERS
The Exchange may establish different clearing
member categories and alter the rights and responsibilities of such categories.
The term “clearing member” as used in the Rules, shall
include all clearing member categories established by the Exchange, including Clearing FCMs,
Clearing Closely Held Corporate Members
[1]
, Clearing Corporate Members
[2]
and Sole Proprietor Clearing Members, unless otherwise
specified.
CBOT Clearing Members shall have all
applicable rights, responsibilities and privileges attendant thereto, subject to the provisions of
these rules and shall be qualified to clear transactions for all CBOT products and all
Expanded-Access Products listed for trading by CME after July 12, 2007.
901.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND OBLIGATIONS
Membership in
the Clearing House is a privilege and license granted by the Board and may be withdrawn by the
Board for cause at any time. Clearing House staff may grant exemptions to the General Requirements
and Obligations set forth below for Clearing Members if it is determined that such an exemption
will not jeopardize the financial integrity of the Clearing House. Subject to such exemptions, each
applicant for qualification as a clearing member must satisfy the following requirements:
[Sections A. and B. are unchanged.]
C. It shall be qualified to do business in
the State of Illinois
or the State of New York
or have a valid agency agreement with an entity qualified to do business in the State of
Illinois
or the State of New York
;
[Sections D. – M. are unchanged.]
N. It shall be responsible for the acts of
Globex terminal operators accessing the Globex system through its connections, including direct
connections or other connections that it provides to firms that are under common ownership with it. It shall be the duty of the clearing member to
supervise
its employees and agents acting as
such
Globex terminal operators
’
to ensure such employees and agents
compl
y
iance
with Exchange rules, and any violation of Exchange rules by such terminal operators
shall
may
be considered a violation by the clearing member.
[The remainder of the rule is unchanged.]
CBOT Rule
902
CBOT Rule 902
has been modified to 1) adopt the 16,000 CME Group Class A Shares needed for joint clearing members
of CBOT, CME and NYMEX and 2) delete footnotes which have been relocated to Rule 900.
902.A.
Assignment Requirement
Subject to exemptions granted
by Exchange staff, a CBOT Clearing FCM shall have at least two Series B-1 (Full) memberships
assigned, and all other CBOT clearing members shall have at least one Series B-1 (Full) membership
assigned.
Subject to exemptions granted
by Exchange staff, each CBOT clearing member shall assign at least the number of CME Group Class A
Shares set forth in the table below:
Number of CME Group Class A
Shares Needed for Clearing Membership
Type of
CBOT Clearing Joint Clearing Member
Joint Clearing Member
Membership Member
of CBOT and CME
of CBOT, CME
and
NYMEX
Clearing FCMs
8,000
12,000
16,000
Clearing Closely
Held Corporate
8,000*
12,000
16,000
Members
[3]
Clearing Corporate
Members
[4]
8,000*
12,000
16,000
Sole Proprietor
Clearing Members 8,000*
12,000
16,000
[The remainder of
the rule is unchanged.]
CME Rule
902
CME Rule 902
has been modified to adopt the 16,000 CME Group Class A Shares needed for joint clearing members of
CME, CBOT and NYMEX.
902.
CLEARING MEMBERSHIP ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS
902.A.
Assignment Requirement
Subject to exemptions granted by Exchange
staff, each CME clearing member shall have at least: two CME memberships, two IMM memberships, two
IOM memberships, and one GEM membership assigned. A clearing member which was an IMM Class A clearing
member on or prior to May 6, 1987, shall have at least one CME membership, three IMM memberships,
two IOM memberships, and one GEM membership assigned. A higher Division membership may be substituted for a
lower Division membership to satisfy these requirements.
Subject to exemptions granted by Exchange
staff, each CME clearing member shall assign at least the number of CME Group Class A Shares set
forth in the table below:
Number of CME Group Class A Shares Needed for
Membership
|
|
Type of Membership
|
CME Only Clearing Member
|
Joint Member of CME and CBOT
|
Joint Member of CME, CBOT and NYMEX
|
|
Rule 900.A.
CME
Clearing Members
|
Clearing Members;
FCMs,
Non-FCMs
,
Closely Held and Sole
Proprietorships
|
8,000
|
12,000
|
16,000
|
|
Member firm plus all
100% affiliates
(Umbrellas)
|
8,000
|
12,000
|
16,000
|
|
Rule 900.B.
CME Corporate Equity Members
|
Corporate Equity
Members (Inactive Clearing)
|
8,000
|
12,000 (w/CBOT
Full)
|
16,000
(w/CBOT Full)
|
|
9,750 (w/CBOT
Assoc)
|
13,750
(w/CBOT Assoc.)
|
|
Family of Funds (holding equity)
|
8,000
|
12,000
|
16,000
|
[The remainder of the rule is
unchanged.]
CBOT Rule
929
CBOT has
transferred responsibility for auditing for financial and sales practice violations for
non-clearing member firms that are FCMs to the National Futures Association (“NFA”). Given that CBOT financial and sales practice rules
are largely mirrored in NFA rules and the NFA has the authority to discipline these firms for
violations, Rule 929 is no longer necessary.
914.-
92
9.
8
[RESERVED]
929.
APPLICABILITY OF RULES 930 THROUGH 983
Whenever Rules 930 through 983 below refer to “clearing members” such Rules
shall also be deemed to apply to Equity FCMs and Trading FCMs
.
930.
PERFORMANCE BOND REQUIREMENTS: ACCOUNT HOLDER LEVEL
[Sections A. – K. are unchanged.]
930.L.
Failure to Maintain Performance Bond Requirements
Clearing
House
Authority
to
Require Additional
Performance Bond
The Clearing House
, in its sole discretion,
has the
authority to require clearing
members to collect additional
performance bond
from specific account
holder
s in
circumstances
deemed necessary by
the Clearing House
.
If a clearing member fails to maintain performance bond requirements for an
account in accordance with this rule, the Exchange or the Clearing House may direct such clearing
member to immediately liquidate all or part of the account's positions to eliminate the
deficiency.
930.M.
Failure to Maintain Performance
Bond Requirements
If a clearing member fails to maintain performance bond requirements for an
account in accordance with this rule, the Exchange or the Clearing House may direct such clearing
member to immediately liquidate all or part of the account's positions to eliminate the
deficiency.
970.
FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS
A.
Subject to exceptions granted by
Exchange staff, all clearing members, including non-FCMs, must comply with the requirements set
forth in CFTC Regulations 1.10, 1.12, 1.17 and 1.18. This includes, but is not limited to, the
following:
1.
Maintenance of
minimum capital requirements
of at least $5 million
;
[The remainder of
the rule is unchanged.]
Rule
974
The
changes to Rule 974 specify a procedure for the suspension of the membership privileges of a
non-clearing member firm that is subject to a bankruptcy proceeding or, in the case of a
non-clearing FCM, that fails to meet the CFTC’s minimum financial requirements.
974.
FAILURE TO MEET MINIMUM FINANCIAL
REQUIREMENTS
A.
If, in the opinion of the Audit Department, a clearing member fails to meet the minimum
financial requirements as prescribed herein or neglects to promptly furnish a statement upon
request, a recommendation may be made to the Clearing House Risk
Committee to suspend the privileges of the clearing member. Upon such recommendation, the Clearing House Risk
Committee shall conduct a hearing and such clearing member shall show cause why its privileges
should not be suspended. Upon finding that the minimum financial requirements
are being violated, the Clearing House Risk Committee may suspend the privileges of such clearing
member in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 4 of these rules. The CFTC shall be immediately notified of any
clearing member which fails to meet the minimum financial requirements. Any suspended clearing member may appeal the decision
of the Clearing House Risk Committee to the Board.
B. If any Rule 106.H., I., J.,
(J. is replaced by N. in the
CME version of the rule)
R., or S. member firm
has notified the Exchange of a bankruptcy
proceeding or a definite intention to file for bankruptcy pursuant to Rule 442,
or if
the Exchange otherwise becomes aware of such
a proceeding or intention,
or if, in the opinion of the Audit
Department, any non-clearing member firm that is an FCM fails to meet
CFTC
minimum financial requirements
or neglects to promptly furnish a statement
upon request
, the membership privileges of the member
firm may be suspended, subject to approval of any two of the following individuals: the Chief
Executive Officer, the President, the President of the Clearing House, the Chairman of the Board,
or the Chief Operating Officer.
Any two of these individuals
may reinstate the membership privileges of
such a suspended member firm, in
t
he
i
r
discretion, if the suspended member firm
provides evidence satisfactory to the Audit Department of its financial responsibility
or
that it meets
CFTC
minimum financial requirements.
982.
RISK MANAGEMENT
All clearing
members must have written risk management policies and procedures in place to ensure they are able
to perform certain basic risk and operational functions at all times. At a minimum, the following
areas must be considered in the firm’s policies and procedures, depending on the firm’s size and
its business and product mix:
A. Trade Submission and Account Monitoring.
Clearing members must have procedures in place to demonstrate compliance in the following areas for
trades executed through both electronic platforms and open outcry:
1. Monitoring the credit risks of accepting trades
, including give-up trades,
of specific customers.
[Sections 2. and 3. are unchanged.]
4. Maintaining the ability to monitor account activity on an intraday basis
, including overnight
.
[The remainder of the rule is unchanged.]
If you have any
questions concerning the Special Executive Report, please contact Robert Sniegowski, Associate
Director, Market Regulation, at 312.341.5991.
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