The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued registration orders to three overseas futures exchanges during the week of Jan. 23. The orders permit the three exchanges—Bursa Malaysia, Singapore Exchange and Tokyo Commodity Exchange—to provide futures brokers and trading firms in the U.S. with direct access to their trading platforms. The orders were the first issued by the CFTC since the rules for non-U.S. exchanges were amended by the Dodd-Frank Act. Under that law, overseas exchanges must register with the CFTC as “foreign boards of trade” in order to provide direct access to their trading platforms in the U.S. Previously this type of access was granted in the form of staff no-action letters. Approximately 20 exchanges that were operating under those letters were permitted to continue providing direct access but were required to apply for registration.
