SEC Proposes Amendments to Exchange Act Rule 3a12-8 to Add European Union Debt Obligations

What the SEC announced

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to Rule 3a12-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to add the debt obligations of the European Union (EU) to the list of foreign government debt obligations designated as "exempted securities" solely for the purposes of futures marketing and trading.

The proposed amendments would place futures contracts on European Union debt obligations under the exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC, consistent with the regulatory treatment already afforded to futures on the debt obligations of several EU member states currently listed under Rule 3a12-8. The offerings of the underlying debt obligations themselves would remain subject to the federal securities laws.

Add the debt obligations of the European Union to the list of foreign government debt obligations designated as “exempted securities” under Rule 3a12-8, solely for the purposes of futures marketing and trading; and

Leave unchanged the existing substantive requirements and provisions of Rule 3a12-8, including its application to the debt obligations of several EU member states and other foreign governments currently listed in the rule.

The proposing release is published on SEC.gov and will be published in the Federal Register. The comment period will remain open for 60 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.