The SEC questions whether Dodd-Frank-era swap rules still make sense

The SEC requested comments from market participants on whether the SEC’s reporting requirements for securities-based swap transactions remain applicable to the products and trading structures that exist today.

The SEC

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission blog, A coordination initiative between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). We will address the regulatory definitions, jurisdictional boundaries, and interpretive principles that have governed derivatives reporting since the division of product supervision and structures created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act more than a decade ago.

This division created two distinct categories of central recordkeeping facilities: swap data repositories (SDRs) under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and security-based swap data repositories (SBSDRs) under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). the SEC SBSDR Overview It presents two types of entities that collect similar information on derivatives transactions, making it difficult for regulators or market participants to obtain a uniform picture of derivatives risks across the market.

Two rule books for one market

Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act gave the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) jurisdiction over security-based swaps (those involving a single security, loan, or narrow-band security index) and gave everything else to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The two agencies were charged by Congress with introducing transparency to the over-the-counter financial derivatives market, which was partly responsible for causing the 2008 financial crisis. However, the two agencies established their own reporting systems independently of each other.

The request for comment is intended to support the SEC’s ongoing evaluation of whether current regulatory definitions, interpretations, and jurisdictional frameworks reflect evolving market structures, financial products, and business practices.https://t.co/63Eliwf9N1

– US Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) June 18, 2026

Provided by the SEC SBSR final rule Back in February 2015. It contains rules on how security-based swap transactions are reported to registered SBSDRs and made public. CFTC Swaps Reporting Rules (Part 45) It had created a similar system for its swap data warehouses several years earlier. The end result is that traders of both swaps and security-based swaps will need to create and maintain two distinct compliance programs, two sets of infrastructure, and two reporting workflows.

ICE Trade Vault, one of the registered SBSDRs, filed with the SEC in April 2026 surrender To permanently align the SBSR with That’s enough for youReporting framework. According to ICE Trade Vault, an approach consistent with the CFTC is sufficient to achieve the transparency and oversight goals set by Congress through Title VII. The organization believes that allowing the current no-action relief period to expire would impose “significant and unnecessary systems and compliance costs” on data repositories and market participants without providing additional regulatory benefit.

The industry supports harmonization

On May 19, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) filed an application. ISDA-SIFMA format letter Pointing out that harmonizing transaction reports is one of the three main priority areas for coordination. According to the International Swaps and Swaps Federation (SIFMA), security-based swaps and swaps “behave functionally the same way, have similar risks, are often used by market participants for the same economic purpose, are priced substantially alike, and are typically offered by the same dealer at the same dealer institutions.” Differences in handling of similar types of tools cause companies to develop duplicate compliance procedures, increasing cost and complexity without achieving a corresponding regulatory benefit.

Additionally, the organizations urged the agencies to use an alternative outcomes-based compliance approach and eliminate the SEC’s “arrange, negotiate, or implement” clause that applies to certain swap transactions based on non-U.S. securities.

The SEC and CFTC are aligning priorities

In SEC-CFTC Announcement of the memorandum of understanding It was signed on March 11, by both Sick and enough It agreed to initiate a joint coordination initiative led by Robert Tepley of the SEC and Megan Tinti of the CFTC.

“Regulatory turf wars, dual agency filings, and different sets of regulations between companies,” SEC Chairman Paul Atkins explained. The SEC and CFTC have stifled innovation and pushed out market participants To other jurisdictions.” CFTC Chairman Michael Selig urged regulators to “eliminate duplicative and burdensome rules and close gaps in regulation.”

The initiative covers six workstreams, including clarifying product definitions, modernizing clearing and margining frameworks, and simplifying reporting of trade data.

On June 8, the SEC put the final touches on it FDTA rulemaking document As required by the Financial Statements Transparency Act of 2022, a rule developed in cooperation with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and seven other agencies that will take effect on October 1. The new rule sets out basic interoperability standards for financial regulatory data, although it does not itself change reporting requirements for market participants.

There is no set deadline for the current comment solicitation process. Written requests can be submitted via SEC Coordination Initiative The portal is on the SEC website.