TO:                  Chief Executive Officers                                                                                #14-06

                        Chief Financial Officers                                                                              

                        Chief Compliance Officers

Legal Counsel

DATE:             August 7, 2014

SUBJECT:      Reminder about Russian and Ukraine Sanctions

As a reminder to all clearing member firms, economic sanctions against certain individuals and entities in Russia and Ukraine have been issued by the United States and the European Union, as well as other countries.  These sanctions include:

·     Comprehensive sanctions against dealings with restricted parties, referred to as “Specially Designated Nationals” in the United States or “Designated Persons” in the European Union.  Such restricted parties should not be permitted to access any CME Group exchanges or have their transactions cleared by CME Group’s clearing operations. 

·     Targeted sanctions against transacting in, providing financing for, or otherwise dealing in (i) “debt” with a maturity of longer than 90 days or (ii) “equity,” if that debt or equity is issued on or after the applicable sanctions effective date by, on behalf of, or for the benefit of certain parties operating in Russia’s financial sector or energy sector.  As of the date of this Bulletin, these parties are identified on the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List and in Annex III to Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014, and the targeted sanctions can also extend to their respective group companies. 

CME Group exchanges do not list for trading or clearing in derivatives whose underlying assets are new debt or new equity issued by these parties.  However, member firms (clearing and non-clearing) should ensure that all aspects of their transactions with these parties (such as cash settlements, physical delivery and the provision of collateral) adhere to all US and (where applicable) EU requirements. 

If you have any questions, please contact the Financial and Regulatory Surveillance Department at (312) 930-3230 or the Corporate Compliance Department at

CME.Compliance.mailbox@cmegroup.com.