^®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

Comment on Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered Swap Entities in Light of Brexit
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury,the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Farm Credit Administration, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency have adopted and invite comment on an interim final rule amending the Agencies' regulations that require swap dealers and securitybased swap dealers under the Agencies' respective jurisdictions to exchange margin with their counterparties for swaps that are not centrally cleared. There are currently financial services firms located within the United Kingdom that conduct swap-dealing activities subject to the Swap Margin Rule. The U.K. has provided formal notice of its intention to withdraw from the European Union on March 29, 2019. If this transpires without a negotiated agreement between the U.K. and E.U., these entities located in the U.K. may not be authorized to provide full-scope financial services to swap counterparties located in the E.U. The Agencies' policy objective in developing the interim final rule is to address one aspect of the scenario likely to ensue, whereby entities located in the U.K. might transfer their existing swap portfolios that face counterparties located in the E.U. over to an affiliate or other related establishment located within the E.U. or the United States. The interim final rule is effective March 19, 2019. Comments should be received on or before April 18, 2019.