The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and EFET.net have begun accepting trade submissions from commodity market participants into the new Global Trade Repository for Commodities (GTRfC.) The first global repository for OTC commodity swaps was launched in January, following successful pilot testing.
EFETnet was established by the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) and is used for EFET and non-EFET energy trading contracts.
The new repository enables users to fulfill reporting obligations to regulators globally, specifically to meet swap data reporting requirements in the US later this year. Submission testing for Dodd-Frank Swap Data Repository (SDR) requirements will begin May 14.
The repository will offer a full range of commodities swaps, both physical and financial, and will be ready for Dodd-Frank Act reporting prior to Oct. 14, 2012, when all OTC commodity derivatives must be reported to a trade repository if they are subject to the jurisdiction of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In addition, the repository is working with market participants and regulators globally from around the globe to promote a single, central location to which swaps and other trade types can be reported. Regulatory reporting through DTCC’s web-based regulatory portal will begin once the repository becomes fully operational in October, and the publishing of public data is expected to follow.
The repository functionality is being phased in over time. The first phase allows participants to create positions in the repository with reports of Snapshots, Primary Economic Terms or Confirmation Data. Companies can maintain positions in the repository either by reporting a daily snapshot of all their OTC commodity positions or by reporting changes to their OTC commodity positions. The second phase will focus on enriching the data, meeting Dodd-Frank specific requirements and expanding the product coverage in conjunction with market participants to ensure a full range of commodity coverage. Initial coverage consists of contracts for natural gas, power, oil, agricultural, emissions, financial freight and weather.
“The launch of the Commodity Derivatives trade repository by DTCC and EFETnet is another important step forward in improving regulatory transparency in the OTC derivatives markets,” said Julian Day, Head of Market Infrastructure for the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). “Policymakers around the world will have greater insight and access to OTC derivatives trades across the range of interest rate, credit, equity and commodities asset classes.”
(JDC)