In the current CFTC release, the CFTC set forth no new policy statements but instead is genuinely soliciting public input on a broad range of SRO topics.

These questions previously were distributed to the Board as well as to members of Exchange disciplinary and governance policy committees – such as among others the Business Conduct Committee; Floor Committee; Compliance Review Committee; Appeals Committee; Adjudication Committee; and the Clearing and Corporate Governance Committees. Exchange staff will be consulting with these committees and with the Board over the next few weeks for feedback on the CFTC release.

Nonetheless, every Exchange member should be aware of the current CFTC request for comment. The current CFTC release is far-ranging in scope and the CFTC’s response to the public comments received potentially could dramatically impact how the Exchange is organized and how it carries out its SRO duties.

Thus, for example, the CFTC asks about the appropriate composition for SRO boards. The CFTC requests that, if a commenter believes that an SRO board should include market participants (such as FCMs, floor traders, floor brokers, trade firms, etc.), the commenter then should identify what market participants should be represented and how representation should be allocated among these participants. The CFTC also asks how and by whom boards should be nominated and elected.

The CFTC release also includes a number of questions directed to Exchange disciplinary and governance committees, including concerning the processes for appointing disciplinary committees and the level of participation on such committees by public members.

Exchange staff welcomes input from all segments of the NYMEX community on the CFTC release. Accordingly, any Member or Member Firm that does not participate in any of the Committees cited above may wish to review the questions and to channel any comments to appropriate representatives on the NYMEX Board of Directors.

The questions can be found at the following link to the CFTC website: http://www.cftc.gov/files/foia/fedreg04/foi040609b.pdf