Form 205 Exempt Commercial Market ("ECM") Annual Certification

OMB NO. 3038-0054

CFTC Form 205
Exempt Commercial Market (“ECM”) Annual Certification
NOTICE: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average one hour per response, including
the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and
completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of
this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this, to Agency Clearance Officer, Office of General Counsel,
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581; and to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503.
Instructions: The Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulatory requirements are shown under column one. Please
provide your responses under column two, and sign and date at the bottom of the form, confirming that all of the information
provided in the certification is correct.
CEA Section 2(h)(5) Provisions
Update of Information & Confirmation of Compliance
Section 2(h)(5)
Name of ECM:
An electronic trading facility relying on the exemption
provided in paragraph (3) shall notify the Commission
of its intention to operate as an electronic trading
facility in reliance on the exemption set forth in
paragraph (3) and include (i) the name and address of
the facility and a person designated to receive
communications from the Commission.

Address:

Web URL:
Contact Person:
Phone #:
Email Address:
Any trading on the
ECM during this
calendar year?

(ii) the commodity categories that the facility intends
to list or otherwise make available for trading on the
facility in reliance on the exemption set forth in
paragraph (3).
(iii) certifications that –
(I) no executive officer or member of the governing
board of, or any holder of a 10 percent or greater
equity interest in, the facility is a person described in
any of subparagraphs (A) through (H) of section
8a(2);
(II) the facility will comply with the conditions for
exemption under this paragraph;
and
(III) the facility will notify the Commission of any
material change in the information previously provided
by the facility to the Commission pursuant to this
paragraph; and
(iv) the identity of any derivatives clearing
organization to which the facility transmits or intends
to transmit transaction data for the purpose of
facilitating the clearance and settlement of
transactions conducted on the facility in reliance on
the exemption set forth in paragraph (3);
2(h)(5)(B)(i)—See 36.3(b) below
2(h)(5)(E) - have a reasonable basis for believing that
participants authorized to conduct transactions on the
facility in reliance on the exemption set forth in
paragraph (3) are eligible commercial entities (ECEs)
(See also § 36.3(c)(3)).

CFTC Regulatory Provisions (§36.3)
§36.3(b) Required information. (1) A facility
operating in reliance on the exemption in section
2(h)(3) of the Act, initially and on an on-going basis,
must:
(i) Identify to the Commission those transactions
conducted on the facility with respect to which it

No

Yes

Please check the appropriate box below. Please provide an
explanation on a separate sheet if any answer is “no”.
Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Are any products cleared? If so, identify the clearing
organization (or indicate if not applicable):

Please explain the basis for believing that participants are
ECEs.

Confirmation of Compliance

intends, in good faith, to rely on the exemption in §
2(h)(3), and which averaged 5 trades per day or more
over the most recent calendar quarter, and, with
respect to such trades, either:
(A) Submit, in a form and manner acceptable to the
Commission, a report for each business day, showing
for each transaction executed in reliance on § 2(h)(3),
and meeting the five trades per day or more threshold
test, the following information: the commodity, the
location, the maturity date, whether it is a financially
settled or physically delivered instrument, the date of
execution, the time of execution, the price, the
quantity, and such other information as the
Commission may determine, and for an option
instrument, in addition to the foregoing, the type of
option (call or put) and the strike price. Each such
report shall be electronically transmitted weekly within
such time period as is acceptable to the Commission;
or
(B) Provide the Commission with electronic access to
transactions on the facility conducted in reliance on §
2(h)(3) and meeting the five trades per day test,
which access would allow the Commission to compile
the information described in (A) above and create a
permanent record thereof.
(iii) Maintain a record of allegations or complaints
received by the trading facility concerning instances of
suspected fraud or manipulation in trading activity
conducted in reliance on the exemption set forth in §
2(h)(3) of the Act. The record shall contain the name
of the complainant, if provided, the date of the
complaint, the market instrument, the substance of
the allegations, and the name of the person at the
trading facility who received the complaint.

§36.3(c)(2) Market data dissemination. (i) Criteria for
price discovery determination. . .

No transactions on the facility meet the 5 trades per day
threshold (please provide explanation)
All transactions meeting the 5 trades per day threshold have
already been identified to the CFTC
Some transactions meeting the 5 trades per day threshold have
recently been identified by the ECM and have not yet been identified
to the CFTC (Please list the transactions on a separate sheet
indicating the commodity, the location, the maturity date and
whether it is financially settled or physically delivered)

Not applicable
Electronic access has already been provided to the CFTC

No complaints of fraud or manipulation have been received
Complaints of fraud or manipulation received have been
identified to the CFTC
Some complaints of fraud or manipulation received by the ECM
have not yet been identified to the CFTC (Please list, with all required
information, on a separate sheet)
Identify any products that serve as a significant source of
price discovery for transactions in the cash market for the
commodity underlying any contract.

(ii) Notification. An electronic trading facility operating
in reliance on section 2(h)(3) of the Act shall notify the
Commission when:
(A) It has reason to believe that the cash market bids,
offers, or transactions are directly based on, or quoted
at a differential to, the prices generated on the market
on a more than occasional basis;
(B) It has reason to believe that the market’s prices
are routinely disseminated in a widely distributed
industry publication and are routinely consulted by
industry participants in pricing cash market
transactions; or
(C) The market holds itself out to the public as
performing a price discovery function for the cash
market for the commodity.

I certify that _____________________________________ continues to operate as an ECM in reliance
upon section 2(h)(3) of the Act and all of the information contained in the Notification of Operation as
an Exempt Commercial Market is correct or has been corrected as a result of this certification.
Signature _____________________________________________________
Position ______________________________________________________
Date _________________________________________________________