6351–01–P
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Intent To Extend Collection
3038–0021, Regulations Governing Bankruptcies of Commodity Brokers
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) is
announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed extension of the
collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning
each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an
existing collection, and to allow 60 days for public comment. This notice solicits
comments on the collection of information provided for by the Commission’s regulations
governing bankruptcies of commodity brokers.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before [INSERT DATE 60 DAYS
AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OMB Control No. 3038–0021,
by any of the following methods:
•

The agency’s website, at https://www.cftc.gov. Follow the instructions for

submitting comments through the web site.
•

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.

Please submit your comments using only one of these methods. All comments
must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an English translation.
Comments will be posted as received to https://www.cftc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert B. Wasserman, Chief Counsel
and Senior Advisor, Division of Clearing and Risk, Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, (202) 418–5092; email: rwasserman@cftc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, Federal agencies must obtain
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor. “Collection of Information” is defined in 44 U.S.C.
3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3 and includes agency requests or requirements that members of
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. An
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a
collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. Section
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), requires Federal agencies to provide
a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of
information before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this
requirement, the CFTC is publishing notice of the proposed extension of the collection of
information listed below.
Title: Regulations Governing Bankruptcies of Commodity Brokers (OMB Control
No. 3038–0021). This is a request for an extension of a currently approved information
collection.1

There are two information collections associated with OMB Control No. 3038–0021. The first includes
the reporting, recordkeeping, and third party disclosure requirements applicable to a single respondent in a
commodity broker liquidation (e.g., a single commodity broker or a single trustee) within the relevant time
period provided for in Commission regulations 190.02(b)(1), 190.02(b)(2), 190.02(c)(1), 190.02(c)(2),
190.02(c)(4), 190.05(b), 190.05(d), 190.07(b)(5), 190.12(a)(2), 190.12(b)(1), 190.12(b)(2), 190.12(c)(1),
190.12(c)(2), and 190.14(a), and 190.14(d). The second information collection includes third party
disclosure requirements that are applicable on a regular basis to multiple respondents (i.e., multiple FCMs)
provided for in Commission regulations 1.41, 1.43 and 1.55(p).
Abstract: This collection of information involves the reporting, recordkeeping,
and third party disclosure requirements set forth in the CFTC’s bankruptcy regulations
for commodity broker liquidations, 17 CFR part 190. These regulations apply to
commodity broker liquidations under Chapter 7, Subchapter IV of the Bankruptcy Code.2
The reporting requirements include, for example, notices to the Commission regarding
the filing of petitions for bankruptcy and notices to the Commission regarding the
intention to transfer open commodity contracts in a commodity broker liquidation. The
recordkeeping requirements include, for example, the statements of customer accounts
that a trustee appointed for the purposes of a commodity broker liquidation (Trustee)
must generate and adjust as set forth in the regulations. The third party disclosure
requirements include, for example, the disclosure statement that a commodity broker
must provide to its customers containing information regarding the manner in which
customer property is treated under part 190 of the Commission’s regulations in the event
of a bankruptcy and, in the event of a commodity broker liquidation, certain notices that a
Trustee must provide to customers and to the persons to whom commodity contracts and
specifically identifiable customer property have been or will be transferred. The
information collection requirements are necessary, and will be used, to facilitate the
effective, efficient, and fair conduct of liquidation proceedings for commodity brokers
and to protect the interests of customers in these proceedings both directly and by
facilitating the participation of the CFTC in such proceedings. With respect to the
collections of information, the CFTC invites comments on:
•

Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information
will have a practical use;

11 U.S.C. 761 et seq.

•

The accuracy of the Commission’s estimate of the burden of the proposed

collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used;
•

Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to

be collected; and
•

Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those

who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of
information technology; e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
You should submit 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 (FOIA), 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.3
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 information collection requirements 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 FOIA.
Burden Statement: The Commission notes that commodity broker liquidations
occur at unpredictable and irregular intervals when particular commodity brokers become
insolvent. While a commodity broker liquidation has not occurred in the past three years,
the Commission took the conservative approach of maintaining the assumptions

17 CFR 145.9.

contained in the previous renewal of this information collection that, on average, a
Futures Commission Merchant (“FCM”) commodity broker liquidation would occur
every three years and that a Derivatives Clearing Organization (“DCO”) commodity
broker liquidation would occur every fifty years. The Commission generally has retained
the burden hour estimates set forth in the previous information collection as there have
been no interim experiences nor are there currently apparent circumstances that would
warrant altering those estimates. The Commission further notes, however, that the
information collection burden will vary in particular commodity broker liquidations
depending on the size of the commodity broker, the extent to which accounts are able to
be quickly transferred, and other factors specific to the circumstances of the liquidation.
The respondent burden for this information collection is estimated to be as
follows:4
•

Reporting - FCMs:5
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1.
Type of Respondents: FCM commodity brokers who have filed a petition in
bankruptcy, Trustees.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

•

Recordkeeping - FCMs:6

Because an FCM commodity broker liquidation is estimated to occur only once every three years, this
information collection expresses such burdens in terms of those that would be imposed on one respondent
during the three-year period.
5 The reporting requirements for FCMs are contained in Commission regulations 190.03(b)(1) and
190.03(b)(2).
6 The recordkeeping requirements for FCMs are contained in Commission regulations 190.05(b) and
190.05(d).
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 26,666.67.
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 26,666.67.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 266.67.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 266.67.
Type of Respondents: Trustees.
Frequency of Collection: Only during the pendency of an FCM bankruptcy: daily
and on occasion.
•

Third Party Disclosures Applicable to a Single Respondent - FCMs:7
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 10,003.32.
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 10,003.32.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 1,336.66.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,336.66.
Type of Respondents: Trustees.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

•

Reporting - DCOs:8
Estimated Number of Respondents:9 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 2.98.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 0.61.

These third party disclosure requirements are contained in Commission regulations 190.03(c)(1),
190.03(c)(2), 190.02(c)(4), and 190.07(b)(5).
8 The reporting requirements for DCOs are contained in Commission regulations 190.12(a)(2),
190.12(b)(1), 190.12(b)(2), 190.12(c)(1), and 190.12(c)(2).
9 Because a DCO commodity broker liquidation is estimated to occur only once every fifty years, this
information collection expresses such burdens in terms of those that would be imposed on one respondent
during the fifty-year period.
Type of Respondents: DCO commodity brokers who have filed a petition in
bankruptcy, Trustees.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
•

Recordkeeping - DCOs:10
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 9.
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 9.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 0.9.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 0.9.
Type of Respondents: Trustees.
Frequency of Collection: Only during the pendency of a DCO bankruptcy: daily.

•

Third Party Disclosures Applicable to a Single Respondent - DCOs:11
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 0.9.
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 0.9.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 0.18.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 0.18.
Type of Respondents: Trustees.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

•

Third Party Disclosures Applicable to Multiple Respondents During
Business as Usual:12
Estimated Number of Respondents: 125.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 3,000.

The recordkeeping requirements for DCOs are contained in Commission regulation 190.14(d).
The third-party disclosure requirements for DCOs are contained in Commission regulation 190.14(a).
12 The third-party disclosure requirements that are applicable on a regular basis to multiple respondents
(i.e., multiple FCMs) are contained in Commission regulations 1.41, 1.43 and 1.55(p).
10
Estimated Total Annual Number of Responses: 375,000.
Estimated Annual Number of Burden Hours per Respondent: 60.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 7,500.
Type of Respondents: FCMs.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
There are no new capital or start-up or operations costs associated with this
information collection, nor are there any maintenance costs associated with this
information collection.

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Dated: June 12, 2024.

Robert Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 2024-13254 Filed: 6/14/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/17/2024]