Joint Release/Agencies Finalize Rule Exempting Certain Commercial and Financial End Users from Initial and Variation Margin Requirements — 2016-08-01

Agencies Finalize Rule Exempting Certain Commercial and Financial End Users from Initial and Variation Margin Requirements Five federal agencies today announced a final rule exempting certain commercial and financial end users from margin requirements for certain swaps not cleared through a clearinghouse. The exemptions were first adopted by interim final rule published in the Federal Register in November 2015 with a request for public comment. The final rule discusses the comments received and adopts the earlier interim final rule as final without change. In a separate rulemaking published in November 2015, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the Farm Credit Administration (collectively, the "Agencies") established initial and variation margin requirements for non-cleared swaps, as required by the Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.