§ 240.17ad-25 - Clearing agency boards of directors and conflicts of interest.

§ 240.17ad-25 xxx

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Clearing agency boards of directors and conflicts of interest.

(a) Definitions. All terms used in this section have the same meaning as in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions apply for purposes of this section:

Affiliate means a person that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the registered clearing agency.

Board of directors means the board of directors or equivalent governing body of the registered clearing agency.

Director means a member of the board of directors or equivalent governing body of the registered clearing agency.

Family member means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, including adoptive relationships, any person (other than a tenant or employee) sharing a household with the director or a nominee for director, a trust in which these persons (or the director or a nominee for director) have more than 50 percent of the beneficial interest, a foundation in which these persons (or the director or a nominee for director) control the management of assets, and any other entity in which these persons (or the director or a nominee for director) own more than 50 percent of the voting interests.

Independent director means a director of the registered clearing agency who has no material relationship with the registered clearing agency or any affiliate thereof.

Material relationship means a relationship, whether compensatory or otherwise, that exists or existed during a lookback period of one year from the initial determination in paragraph (b)(2) and that reasonably could affect the independent judgment or decision-making of the director.

Service provider for core services means any person that, through a written services provider agreement for services provided to or on behalf of the registered clearing agency, on an ongoing basis, directly supports the delivery of clearance or settlement functionality or any other purposes material to the business of the registered clearing agency.

(b) Composition of the board of directors.

(1) A majority of the members of the board of directors of a registered clearing agency must be independent directors, unless a majority of the voting interests issued as of the immediately prior record date are directly or indirectly held by participants, in which case at least 34 percent of the members of the board of directors must be independent directors.

(2) Each registered clearing agency shall broadly consider all the relevant facts and circumstances, including under paragraph (g) of this section, on an ongoing basis, to affirmatively determine that a director does not have a material relationship with the registered clearing agency or an affiliate of the registered clearing agency, and is not precluded from being an independent director under paragraph (f) of this section. In making such determination, a registered clearing agency must:

(i) Identify the relationships between a director and the registered clearing agency or any affiliate thereof and any circumstances under paragraph (f) of this section;

(ii) Evaluate whether any relationship is likely to impair the independence of the director in performing the duties of director; and

(iii) Document the evaluation and determination in writing.

(c) Nominating committee.

(1) Each registered clearing agency must establish a nominating committee and a written evaluation process whereby such nominating committee shall evaluate nominees for serving as directors and evaluate the independence of nominees and directors.

(2) A majority of the directors serving on the nominating committee must be independent directors, and the chair of the nominating committee must be an independent director.

(3) The fitness standards for serving as a director shall be specified by the nominating committee, documented in writing, and approved by the board of directors. Such fitness standards must be consistent with the requirements of this section and include that the individual is not subject to any statutory disqualification as defined under Section 3(a)(39) of the Act.

(4) The nominating committee must document the outcome of the written evaluation process consistent with the fitness standards required under paragraph (c)(3) of this section. Such process shall:

(i) Take into account each nominee's expertise, availability, and integrity, and demonstrate that the board of directors, taken as a whole, has a diversity of skills, knowledge, experience, and perspectives;

(ii) Demonstrate that the nominating committee has considered whether a particular nominee would complement the other board members, such that, if elected, the board of directors, taken as a whole, would represent the views of the owners and participants, including a selection of directors that reflects the range of different business strategies, models, and sizes across participants, as well as the range of customers and clients the participants serve;

(iii) Demonstrate that the nominating committee considered the views of other stakeholders who may be affected by the decisions of the registered clearing agency, including transfer agents, settlement banks, nostro agents, liquidity providers, technology or other service providers; and

(iv) Identify whether each nominee or director would meet the definition of independent director in paragraphs (a) and (f) of this section, and whether each such nominee or director has a known material relationship with the registered clearing agency or any affiliate thereof, an owner, a participant, or a representative of another stakeholder of the registered clearing agency described in paragraph (c)(4)(iii) of this section.

(d) Risk management committee.

(1) Each registered clearing agency must establish a risk management committee (or committees) of the board to assist the board of directors in overseeing the risk management of the registered clearing agency. The membership of each risk management committee must be re-evaluated annually and at all times include representatives from the owners and participants of the registered clearing agency.

(2) In the performance of its duties, the risk management committee must be able to provide a risk-based, independent, and informed opinion on all matters presented to the committee for consideration in a manner that supports the overall risk management, safety and efficiency of the registered clearing agency.

(e) Committees generally. If any committee has the authority to act on behalf of the board of directors, the composition of that committee must have at least the same percentage of independent directors as is required for the board of directors, as set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

(f) Circumstances that preclude directors from being independent directors. In addition to how the definition of independent director set forth in this section is applied by a registered clearing agency, the following circumstances preclude a director from being an independent director, subject to a lookback period of one year (counting back from making the initial determination in paragraph (b)(2) of this section) applying to paragraphs (f)(2) through (6) of this section:

(1) The director is subject to rules, policies, or procedures by the registered clearing agency that may undermine the director's ability to operate unimpeded, such as removal by less than a majority vote of shares that are entitled to vote in such director's election;

(2) The director, or a family member, has an employment relationship with or otherwise receives compensation other than as a director from the registered clearing agency or any affiliate thereof, or the holder of a controlling voting interest of the registered clearing agency;

(3) The director, or a family member, is receiving payments from the registered clearing agency, or any affiliate thereof, or the holder of a controlling voting interest of the registered clearing agency, that reasonably could affect the independent judgment or decision-making of the director, other than the following:

(i) Compensation for services as a director on the board of directors or a committee thereof; or

(ii) Pension and other forms of deferred compensation for prior services not contingent on continued service;

(4) The director, or a family member, is a partner in, or controlling shareholder of, any organization to or from which the registered clearing agency, or any affiliate thereof, or the holder of a controlling voting interest of the registered clearing agency, is making or receiving payments for property or services, other than the following:

(i) Payments arising solely from investments in the securities of the registered clearing agency, or affiliate thereof; or

(ii) Payments under non-discretionary charitable contribution matching programs;

(5) The director, or a family member, is employed as an executive officer of another entity where any executive officers of the registered clearing agency serve on that entity's compensation committee; or

(6) The director, or a family member, is a partner of the outside auditor of the registered clearing agency, or any affiliate thereof, or an employee of the outside auditor who is working on the audit of the registered clearing agency, or any affiliate thereof.

(g) Conflicts of interest. Each registered clearing agency must establish, implement, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to:

(1) Identify and document existing or potential conflicts of interest in the decision-making process of the clearing agency involving directors or senior managers of the registered clearing agency; and

(2) Mitigate or eliminate and document the mitigation or elimination of such conflicts of interest.

(h) Obligation of directors to report conflicts. Each registered clearing agency must establish, implement, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to require a director to document and inform the registered clearing agency promptly of the existence of any relationship or interest that reasonably could affect the independent judgment or decision-making of the director.

(i) Management of risks from relationships with service providers for core services. Each registered clearing agency must establish, implement, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to:

(1) Require senior management to evaluate and document the risks related to an agreement with a service provider for core services, including under changes to circumstances and potential disruptions, and whether the risks can be managed in a manner consistent with the clearing agency's risk management framework;

(2) Require senior management to submit to the board of directors for review and approval any agreement that would establish a relationship with a service provider for core services, along with the risk evaluation required in paragraph (i)(1) of this section;

(3) Require senior management to be responsible for establishing the policies and procedures that govern relationships and manage risks related to such agreements with service providers for core services and require the board of directors to be responsible for reviewing and approving such policies and procedures; and

(4) Require senior management to perform ongoing monitoring of the relationship, and report to the board of directors for its evaluation of any action taken by senior management to remedy significant deterioration in performance or address changing risks or material issues identified through such monitoring; or if the risks or issues cannot be remedied, require senior management to assess and document weaknesses or deficiencies in the relationship with the service provider for submission to the board of directors.

(j) Obligation of board of directors to solicit and consider viewpoints of participants and other relevant stakeholders. Each registered clearing agency must establish, implement, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to require the board of directors to solicit, consider, and document its consideration of the views of participants and other relevant stakeholders of the registered clearing agency regarding material developments in its risk management and operations on a recurring basis.

[88 FR 84509, Dec. 5, 2023

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