Effective immediately, CME Group offers Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) and Broker Firms the ability to register their customers/Trading Firms as CME ClearPort counterparties for a more efficient registration process. This enhancement is designed to facilitate deal submissions that require a CME ClearPort Account (traded either on CME Direct or CME ClearPort), where the Trading Firms do not require direct access to CME Group systems.

Expedited registration process:

• Clearing Firm or Broker Firm registers on behalf of a Trading Firm
• Trading Firm is not required to sign the CME Exchange User License Agreement

Click here to access the registration form.

Please contact Enterprise Application & System Entitlements (EASE) with questions or concerns pertaining to CME Counterparty Firm Registration in the U.S. at +1 312 456 1560, Europe at +44 203 379 3802 or Asia at +65 6593 5536.

Short Code Account

FCMs can now create Short Code Accounts in CME Account Manager. Short Code Accounts are used to represent an entity where an account is required for CME ClearPort or CME Direct. A Short Code Account extends the Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs), Investment Advisors (IAs), and foreign persons performing a similar role to a CTA or IA registration exemptions to any participant in cases where trades will likely be given up after entry.

The account can be used for block trades and Exchange for Related Position (EFRP) Transactions. Executed “give-up” agreements must be in place if required.

Short Code Accounts are not eligible for cleared swap trades.

For more information on Short Codes Accounts, please contact ShortCodeAccountReg@cmegroup.com.

Please refer to the most current Market Regulation Advisory Notice for additional information and regulatory requirements for block trades.

Starting Monday, June 15, CME Clearing will begin a phased approach to automating the account set-up process. Benefits include:

• Decreased turnaround times for setting up new OTC accounts.
• Eventual removal of the Consolidated Account Sheet.
• Increased Clearing Firm control of the account set-up process.

Please note: This change does not affect Portfolio Margining, CME Clearing Europe, or New Release account set-ups. These processes will continue to require a Consolidated Account Setup Sheet.

CME Clearing will implement this upgrade in two phases:

Phase 1: Monday, June 15

CME Clearing will no longer provide mapping documentation to affirmation platforms.

• Clearing Member Firms will need to communicate account/alias mappings to the desired platforms. To assist with this change, CME Clearing publishes account-level mapping data in the PlatformMapping_XXX_YYYYMMDD.csv file, where “XXX” is the Clearing Member Firm ID. This file is published daily between 5:00 and 5:30 pm Central Time (CT) to the secure FTP.
• CME Clearing also publishes the Account Reconciliation file, AccountRecon_XXX_YYYYMMDD.csv, which contains all details needed for platform account setups.

Phase 2: Monday, June 29

CME Clearing will no longer require Clearing Member Firms to send the Consolidated Account Setup Sheet for OTC account creation.

• Information formerly communicated through the Consolidated Account Setup Sheet will now be entered directly into CME Account Manager.
  • CME Clearing will finalize the account creation within 24 hours of the account being entered into CME Account Manager.
• Once the account is fully setup, it will display in your "Platform File" as eligible to be mapped and will be marked as complete on your Account Reconciliation file.

Please Note: The process of adding new accounts to CME Account Manager will not change. The procedure is outlined within the CME Account Manager WebHelp.

Additional information including platform mapping file examples is available here.

If you have any questions, please contact Client Services at +1 312 338 7112.

^{† Denotes update to the article}

† In response to the June 30 Leap Second Event, CME Group strongly recommends CME Account Manager customers finish their processing prior to 18:55 Central Time (CT) on this date and not access CME Account Manager between 18:55 and 19:05.

CME Group uses Network Time Protocol (NTP) to synchronize time and maintain time accuracy. On Tuesday, June 30 (trade date Wednesday, July 1), a positive leap second will be added after 18:59:59 CT. A leap second is a one-second adjustment that is added to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to account for variability of the earth’s rotation.

Please contact the Global Command Center (GCC) in the U.S. +1 800 438 8616, in Europe at +44 800 898 013 or in Asia at +65 6532 5010.

Additional information is available at cmegroup.com/leapsecond