Title 17

SECTION 23.600

23.600 Risk Management Program for swap dealers and major swap participants.

§ 23.600 Risk Management Program for swap dealers and major swap participants.

(a) Definitions. For purposes of subpart J, the following terms shall be defined as provided.

(1) Affiliate. This term means, with respect to any person, a person controlling, controlled by, or under common control with, such person.

(2) Business trading unit. This term means any department, division, group, or personnel of a swap dealer or major swap participant or any of its affiliates, whether or not identified as such, that performs, or personnel exercising direct supervisory authority over the performance of any pricing (excluding price verification for risk management purposes), trading, sales, marketing, advertising, solicitation, structuring, or brokerage activities on behalf of a registrant.

(3) Clearing unit. This term means any department, division, group, or personnel of a registrant or any of its affiliates, whether or not identified as such, that performs, or personnel exercising direct supervisory authority over the performance of any proprietary or customer clearing activities on behalf of a registrant.

(4) Governing body. This term means:

(1) A board of directors;

(2) A body performing a function similar to a board of directors;

(3) Any committee of a board or body; or

(4) The chief executive officer of a registrant, or any such board, body, committee, or officer of a division of a registrant, provided that the registrant's swaps activities for which registration with the Commission is required are wholly contained in a separately identifiable division.

(5) Prudential regulator. This term has the same meaning as section 1a(39) of the Commodity Exchange Act and includes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Farm Credit Association, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as applicable to the swap dealer or major swap participant.

(6) Senior management. This term means, with respect to a registrant, any officer or officers specifically granted the authority and responsibility to fulfill the requirements of senior management by the registrant's governing body.

(7) Swaps activities. This term means, with respect to a registrant, such registrant's activities related to swaps and any product used to hedge such swaps, including, but not limited to, futures, options, other swaps or security-based swaps, debt or equity securities, foreign currency, physical commodities, and other derivatives.

(b) Risk management program - (1) Purpose. Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall establish, document, maintain, and enforce a system of risk management policies and procedures designed to monitor and manage the risks associated with the swaps activities of the swap dealer or major swap participant. For purposes of this regulation, such policies and procedures shall be referred to collectively as a “Risk Management Program.”

(2) Written policies and procedures. Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall maintain written policies and procedures that describe the Risk Management Program of the swap dealer or major swap participant.

(3) Approval by governing body. The Risk Management Program and the written risk management policies and procedures shall be approved, in writing, by the governing body of the swap dealer or major swap participant.

(4) Furnishing to the Commission. Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall furnish a copy of its written risk management policies and procedures to the Commission, or to a futures association registered under section 17 of the Act, if directed by the Commission, upon application for registration and thereafter upon request.

(5) Risk management unit. As part of its Risk Management Program, each swap dealer and major swap participant shall establish and maintain a risk management unit with sufficient authority; qualified personnel; and financial, operational, and other resources to carry out the risk management program established pursuant to this regulation. The risk management unit shall report directly to senior management and shall be independent from the business trading unit.

(c) Elements of the Risk Management Program. The Risk Management Program of each swap dealer and major swap participant shall include, at a minimum, the following elements:

(1) Identification of risks and risk tolerance limits. (i) The Risk Management Program should take into account market, credit, liquidity, foreign currency, legal, operational, settlement, and any other applicable risks together with a description of the risk tolerance limits set by the swap dealer or major swap participant and the underlying methodology in written policies and procedures. The risk tolerance limits shall be reviewed and approved quarterly by senior management and annually by the governing body. Exceptions to risk tolerance limits shall be subject to written policies and procedures.

(ii) The Risk Management Program shall take into account risks posed by affiliates and the Risk Management Program shall be integrated into risk management at the consolidated entity level.

(iii) The Risk Management Program shall include policies and procedures for detecting breaches of risk tolerance limits set by the swap dealer or major swap participant, and alerting supervisors within the risk management unit and senior management, as appropriate.

(2) Periodic Risk Exposure Reports. (i) The risk management unit of each swap dealer and major swap participant shall provide to senior management and to its governing body quarterly written reports setting forth the market, credit, liquidity, foreign currency, legal, operational, settlement, and any other applicable risk exposures of the swap dealer or major swap participant; any recommended or completed changes to the Risk Management Program; the recommended time frame for implementing recommended changes; and the status of any incomplete implementation of previously recommended changes to the Risk Management Program. For purposes of this regulation, such reports shall be referred to as “Risk Exposure Reports.” The Risk Exposure Reports also shall be provided to the senior management and the governing body immediately upon detection of any material change in the risk exposure of the swap dealer or major swap participant.

(ii) Furnishing to the Commission. Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall furnish copies of its Risk Exposure Reports to the Commission within five (5) business days of providing such reports to its senior management.

(3) New product policy. The Risk Management Program of each swap dealer and major swap participant shall include a new product policy that is designed to identify and take into account the risks of any new product prior to engaging in transactions involving the new product. The new product policy should include the following elements:

(i) Consideration of the type of counterparty with which the new product will be transacted; the product's characteristics and economic function; and whether the product requires a novel pricing methodology or presents novel legal and regulatory issues.

(ii) Identification and analysis of all relevant risks associated with the new product and how they will be managed. The risk analysis should include an assessment, if relevant, of any product, market, credit, liquidity, foreign currency, legal, operational, settlement, and any other risks associated with the new product. Product risk characteristics may include, if relevant, volatility, non-linear price characteristics, jump-to-default risk, and any correlation between the value of the product and the counterparty's creditworthiness.

(iii) An assessment, signed by a supervisor in the risk management unit, as to whether the new product would materially alter the overall entity-wide risk profile of the swap dealer or major swap participant. If the new product would materially alter the overall risk profile of the swap dealer or major swap participant, the new product must be pre-approved by the governing body before any transactions are effectuated.

(iv) A requirement that the risk management unit review the risk analysis to identify any necessary modifications to the Risk Management Program and implement such modifications prior to engaging in transactions involving the new product.

(v) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a swap dealer's or major swap participant's new product policy may include provisions permitting limited preliminary approval of new products -

(A) At a risk level that would not be material to the swap dealer or major swap participant; and

(B) Solely in order to provide the swap dealer or major swap participant with the opportunity to facilitate development of appropriate operational and risk management processes for such product.

(4) Specific risk management considerations. The Risk Management Program of each swap dealer and major swap participant shall include, but not be limited to, policies and procedures necessary to monitor and manage the following risks:

(i) Market risk. Market risk policies and procedures shall take into account, among other things:

(A) Daily measurement of market exposure, including exposure due to unique product characteristics, volatility of prices, basis and correlation risks, leverage, sensitivity of option positions, and position concentration, to comply with market risk tolerance limits;

(B) Timely and reliable valuation data derived from, or verified by, sources that are independent of the business trading unit, and if derived from pricing models, that the models have been independently validated by qualified, independent external or internal persons; and

(ii) Credit risk. Credit risk policies and procedures shall take into account, among other things:

(A) Daily measurement of overall credit exposure to comply with counterparty credit limits;

(B) Monitoring and reporting of violations of counterparty credit limits performed by personnel that are independent of the business trading unit; and

(C) Regular valuation of collateral used to cover credit exposures and safeguarding of collateral to prevent loss, disposal, rehypothecation, or use unless appropriately authorized.

(iii) Liquidity risk. Liquidity risk policies and procedures shall take into account, among other things:

(A) Daily measurement of liquidity needs;

(B) Assessing procedures to liquidate all non-cash collateral in a timely manner and without significant effect on price; and

(iv) Foreign currency risk. Foreign currency risk policies and procedures shall take into account, among other things:

(A) Daily measurement of the amount of capital exposed to fluctuations in the value of foreign currency to comply with applicable limits; and

(B) Establishment of safeguards against adverse currency fluctuations.

(v) Legal risk. Legal risk policies and procedures shall take into account, among other things:

(A) Determinations that transactions and netting arrangements entered into have a sound legal basis; and

(B) Establishment of documentation tracking procedures designed to ensure the completeness of relevant documentation and to resolve any documentation exceptions on a timely basis.

(vi) Operational risk. Operational risk policies and procedures shall take into account, among other things:

(A) Secure and reliable operating and information systems with adequate, scalable capacity, and independence from the business trading unit;

(B) Safeguards to detect, identify, and promptly correct deficiencies in operating and information systems; and

(vii) Settlement risk. Settlement risk policies and procedures shall take into account, among other things:

(A) Establishment of standard settlement instructions with each counterparty;

(B) Procedures to track outstanding settlement items and aging information in all accounts, including nostro and suspense accounts; and

(5) Use of central counterparties. Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall establish policies and procedures relating to its use of central counterparties. Such policies and procedures shall:

(i) Require the use of central counterparties where clearing is required pursuant to Commission regulation or order, unless the counterparty has properly invoked a clearing exemption under Commission regulations;

(ii) Set forth the conditions for the voluntary use of central counterparties for clearing when available as a means of mitigating counterparty credit risk; and

(iii) Require diligent investigation into the adequacy of the financial resources and risk management procedures of any central counterparty through which the swap dealer or major swap participant clears.

(6) Compliance with margin and capital requirements. Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall satisfy all capital and margin requirements established by the Commission or prudential regulator, as applicable.

(7) Monitoring of compliance with Risk Management Program. Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall establish policies and procedures to detect violations of the Risk Management Program; to encourage employees to report such violations to senior management, without fear of retaliation; and to take specified disciplinary action against employees who violate the Risk Management Program.

(d) Business trading unit. Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall establish policies and procedures that, at a minimum:

(1) Require all trading policies be approved by the governing body of the swap dealer or major swap participant;

(2) Require that traders execute transactions only with counterparties for whom credit limits have been established;

(3) Provide specific quantitative or qualitative limits for traders and personnel able to commit the capital of the swap dealer or major swap participant;

(4) Monitor each trader throughout the trading day to prevent the trader from exceeding any limit to which the trader is subject, or from otherwise incurring unauthorized risk;

(5) Require each trader to follow established policies and procedures for executing and confirming all transactions;

(6) Establish means to detect unauthorized trading activities or any other violation of policies and procedures;

(7) Ensure that all trade discrepancies are documented and, other than immaterial, clerical errors, are brought to the immediate attention of management of the business trading unit;

(8) Ensure that broker statements and payments to brokers are periodically audited by persons independent of the business trading unit;

(9) Ensure that use of trading programs is subject to policies and procedures governing the use, supervision, maintenance, testing, and inspection of the program; and

(10) Require the separation of personnel in the business trading unit from personnel in the risk management unit.

(e) Review and testing. (1) Risk Management Programs shall be reviewed and tested on at least an annual basis, or upon any material change in the business of the swap dealer or major swap participant that is reasonably likely to alter the risk profile of the swap dealer or major swap participant.

(2) The annual reviews of the Risk Management Program shall include an analysis of adherence to, and the effectiveness of, the risk management policies and procedures, and any recommendations for modifications to the Risk Management Program. The annual testing shall be performed by qualified internal audit staff that are independent of the business trading unit being audited or by a qualified third party audit service reporting to staff that are independent of the business trading unit. The results of the annual review of the Risk Management Program shall be promptly reported to, and reviewed by, the chief compliance officer, senior management, and governing body of the swap dealer or major swap participant.

(3) Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall document all internal and external reviews and testing of its Risk Management Program and written risk management policies and procedures including the date of the review or test; the results; any deficiencies identified; the corrective action taken; and the date that corrective action was taken. Such documentation shall be provided to Commission staff, upon request.

(f) Distribution of risk management policies and procedures. The Risk Management Program shall include procedures for the timely distribution of its written risk management policies and procedures to relevant supervisory personnel. Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall maintain records of the persons to whom the risk management policies and procedures were distributed and when they were distributed.

(g) Recordkeeping. (1) Each swap dealer and major swap participant shall maintain copies of all written approvals required by this section.

(2) All records or reports that a swap dealer or major swap participant is required to maintain pursuant to this regulation shall be maintained in accordance with Commission Regulation § 1.31 and shall be made available promptly upon request to representatives of the Commission and to representatives of applicable prudential regulators.

[77 FR 20205, Apr. 3, 2012, as amended at 79 FR 41126, July 15, 2014]