[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 65236-65237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30361]
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
17 CFR Part 30
Foreign Option Transactions
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Order.
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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) is
issuing this Order pursuant to which Option Contracts on a spot foreign
exchange operation between the Deutsche Mark and the French Franc (DEM/
FRF) traded on the Marche a Terme International de France (MATIF) may
be offered or sold to persons located in the United States. This Order
makes it unlawful for any person to engage in the offer or sale of a
foreign option product until the Commission, by order, authorizes such
foreign option to be offered or sold in the United States and the
procedures established by the Mutual Recognition Memorandum of
Understanding (MRMOU) with the French Commission des Operations de
Bourse.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 18, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Warren R. Gorlick, Esq., Division of
Trading and Markets, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three
Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20581.
Telephone: (202) 418-5435.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission has issued the following
Order:
United States of America Before the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission
Order Pursuant to the Mutual Recognition Memorandum of
Understanding with the French Commission des Operations de Bourse
and Rule 30.3(a) Permitting Option Contracts on the DEM/FRF Traded
on the Marche a Terme International de France (MATIF) to Be Offered
or Sold to Persons Located in the United States Thirty Days After
Publication of This Notice in the Federal Register Absent Further
Notice
By Order issued on December 17, 1991 (Initial Order) 1, the
Commission authorized, pursuant to the Mutual Recognition Memorandum of
Understanding (MRMOU) 2 and Commission rule 30.3(a),3 certain
option products traded on the MATIF to be offered or sold in the United
States.
\1\ See 56 FR 66345 (December 23, 1991).
\2\ See 55 FR 23902 (June 13, 1990). Among other things, this
arrangement provides a mechanism pursuant to which certain option
products traded on the Marche a Terme International de France
(MATIF) may be offered or sold to customers resident in the United
States thirty days after publication in the Federal Register of a
notice specifying the particular option contracts to be offered or
sold.
\3\ Commission rule 30.3(a), 17 CFR 30.3(a), makes it unlawful
for any person to engage in the offer or sale of a foreign option
product until the Commission, by order, authorizes such foreign
option to be offered or sold in the United States.
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By letter dated October 24, 1995, MATIF notified the Commission
that on October 23, 1995 it would be introducing Option Contracts based
on the DEM/FRF and requested that the Commission supplement its Initial
Order authorizing the offer and sale in the United States of Options on
the Notional Bond, the 3-month PIBOR, the 3-month EURODEM Futures
Contracts; a Supplemental Order, 57 FR 10987 (April 1, 1992),
authorizing the offer and sale in the United States of Options on the
Long-Term ECU Bond Futures Contracts; a Supplemental Order, 59 FR 22971
(May 4, 1994), authorizing the offer and sale in the United States of
Options on the USD/DEM and USD/FRF; and a Supplemental Order, 60 FR
34458 (July 3, 1995), authorizing the offer and sale in the United
States of Options on the GBP/DEM and the DEM/ITL by also authorizing
the MATIF's Option Contracts on the DEM/FRF to be offered or sold to
persons located in the United States.4 Based upon the foregoing,
and pursuant to the terms of the MRMOU, the Commission hereby publishes
this Order in the Federal Register pursuant to which the particular
Option Contracts specified herein may be offered or sold thirty days
after the publication of this Order.
\4\ See letter dated October 24, 1995 from Catherine Langlais,
MATIF, to Jane C. Kang, Esq., Division of Trading and Markets. See
also letter dated November 6, 1995 from Frederic Perier, Commission
des Operations de Bourse, to Andrea M. Corcoran, Director, Division
of Trading and Markets.
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Accordingly, pursuant to Commission rule 30.3(a), 17 CFR 30.3(a),
and Article II, paragraph 6(b) and Article V, paragraph 6 of the MRMOU
signed by the Commission on June 6, 1990 (55 FR 23902 (June 13, 1990)),
and subject to the terms and conditions specified in the MRMOU, the
Commission hereby issues this Order pursuant to which Option Contracts
based on the DEM/FRF traded on the MATIF may be offered or sold to
persons located in the United States thirty days after publication of
this Order in the Federal Register, unless prior to that date the
Commission receives any comments which may result in a determination to
delay the effective date of the Order pending review of such comments.
Under such circumstances the Commission will provide notice.
Contract Specifications
DEM/FRF Option
Type
European style
Underlying Interest
Spot currency transaction DEM against FRF
Contract Size
DEM 100,000
Strike Price
Expressed in FRF, with 2 decimals.
Strike price intervals: 1 Centime (3.40-3.41)
Quotation
Premium in % of the DEM nominal, with 2 decimals.
Ex: 0.45% stands for 100,000 x 0.45/100 = DEM 450.
In specific cases, premium with 3 decimals.
Tick
Size: 0.01%
Value: 0.01/100 x 100,000 = DEM 10
Expiration
3 monthly + 3 quarterly expirations from March (H), June (M), September
(U), December (Z)
Last Trading Day
Thursday following the 3rd Wednesday of expiration month at 9:00 am
(New York time)
[[Page 65237]]
First Trading Day
First business day following an expiration date
Exercise
After settlement of a spot-fixing on the expiration date, automatic
exercise of in-the-money options.
Exercise: exchange of underlying currencies
Trading Hours
Open outcry: 9:15 am to 5:00 pm (Paris time)
THS (after hours trading): 5:00 pm to 9:15 am
List of Subjects in 17 CFR Part 30
Commodity futures, Commodity options, Foreign transactions.
Accordingly, 17 CFR part 30 is amended as set forth below:
PART 30--FOREIGN FUTURES AND FOREIGN OPTION TRANSACTIONS
1. The authority citation for part 30 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Secs. 2(a)(1)(A), 4, 4c, and 8a of the Commodity
Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 2, 6, 6c and 12a.
2. Appendix B to part 30 is amended by adding the following entry
after the existing entries for the ``Marche a Terme International de
France'' to read as follows:
Appendix B to Part 30--Option Contracts Permitted to be Offered or Sold
in the U.S. Pursuant to Sec. 30.3(a)
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Exchange Type of contract FR date and citation
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Marche a Terme International Option Contracts on December 19, 1995;
de France. the Deutsche Mark 60 FR 65237
and the French
Franc (DEM/FRF).
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Issued in Washington, D.C. on December 6, 1995.
Jean A. Webb,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 95-30361 Filed 12-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P
