2024-01600. Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review

AGENCY:

Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected costs and burden.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before February 26, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of this notice's publication to OIRA, at https://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Please find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the website's search function. Comments can be entered electronically by clicking on the “comment” button next to the information collection on the “OIRA Information Collections Under Review” page, or the “View ICR-Agency Submission” page. A copy of the supporting statement for the collection of information discussed herein may be obtained by visiting https://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain.

In addition to the submission of comments to https://reginfo.gov as indicated above, a copy of all comments submitted to OIRA may also be submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “Commission” or “CFTC”) by clicking on the “Submit Comment” box next to the descriptive entry for OMB Control No. 3038–0026, at https://comments.cftc.gov/​FederalRegister/​PublicInfo.aspx.

Or by either of the following methods:

• Mail: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581.

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as Mail above.

All comments must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an English translation. Comments submitted to the Commission should include only information that you wish to make available publicly. If you wish the Commission to consider information that you believe is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, a petition for confidential treatment of the exempt information may be submitted according to the procedures established in § 145.9 of the Commission's regulations.^[1] The Commission reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to review, prescreen, filter, redact, refuse or remove any or all of your submission from https://www.cftc.gov that it may deem to be inappropriate for publication, such as obscene language. All submissions that have been redacted or removed that contain comments on the merits of the ICR will be retained in the public comment file and will be considered as required under the Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable laws, and may be accessible under the Freedom of Information Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Andrew Pai, Attorney Advisor, Market Participants Division, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, (646) 746–9893; email: [e-mail], and refer to OMB Control No. 3038–0026.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

 

Title: Gross Collection of Exchange-Set Margins for Omnibus Accounts (OMB Control No. 3038–0026). This is a request for extension of a currently approved information collection.

Abstract: Commission Regulation 1.58 requires futures commission merchants to collect exchange-set margin for omnibus accounts on a gross, rather than a net, basis. The regulation provides that the carrying FCM need not collect margin for positions traded by a person through an omnibus account in excess of the amount that would be required if the same person, instead of trading through an omnibus account, maintained its own account with the carrying FCM. To prevent abuse of this exception to the regulation, a carrying FCM must maintain a written representation from the originating FCM or foreign broker that the particular positions held in the omnibus account are part of a hedge or spread transaction. This collection of information is necessary in order to provide documentation that can be inspected with regard to questions of proper compliance with gross margining requirements. This rule is promulgated pursuant to the Commission's rulemaking authority contained in Sections 4c, 4d, 4f, 4g and 8a of the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 6c, 6d, 6f, 6g and 12a.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on November 17, 2023 (88 FR 80284) (“60-Day Notice”). The Commission did not receive any relevant comments on the 60-Day Notice.

Burden Statement: The Commission is revising its estimate of the burden due to the reduced number of futures commission merchants in the industry. The respondent burden for this collection is estimated to be as follows:

Respondents/Affected Entities: 52.

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 208.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 17 hours.

Frequency of collection: On occasion.

There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection.

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)

Dated: January 23, 2024.

Robert Sidman,

Deputy Secretary of the Commission.

Footnotes

1.  17 CFR 145.9.