Protecting Main Street End-Users From Excessive Regulation

Protecting Main Street End-Users From Excessive Regulation - (Sec. 2) Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to revise the current exception to the definition of "swap dealer" to state that, in determining whether a person is a "swap dealer," no consideration shall be given to any transaction entered into for the person's own account for the purpose of hedging or mitigating commercial risk.

Directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to adopt standards distinguishing: (1) the activities of a swap dealer specified in current law, and (2) entering into swaps for a person's own account in order to achieve its own trading objectives as determined by the CFTC.

Directs the CFTC to exempt from designation as a swap dealer an entity that enters into swap dealing transactions with or on behalf of its customers if the aggregate gross notional amount of the outstanding swap dealing transactions entered into over the course of the preceding calendar year does not exceed $3 billion (or a greater amount, as market conditions warrant), adjusted for inflation.

(Sec. 3) States that this Act shall be implemented: (1) without regard to federal law regarding coordination of federal information policy or rulemaking requirements concerning notice and comment, and (2) through promulgation of an interim final rule.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3527 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3527

 To amend the Commodity Exchange Act to clarify the definition of swap 
                                dealer.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 30, 2011

   Mr. Hultgren (for himself, Mr. Boren, Mrs. Biggert, Mr. Dold, Mr. 
    Johnson of Illinois, Mr. Lance, Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois, Mr. 
  Manzullo, and Mr. Schock) introduced the following bill; which was 
                referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Commodity Exchange Act to clarify the definition of swap 
                                dealer.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Main Street End-Users 
From Excessive Regulation''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF THE DEFINITION OF SWAP DEALER.

    Section 1a(49) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a(49)) is 
amended to read as follows:
            ``(49) Swap dealer.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `swap dealer' means any 
                person who is engaged in the business of entering into 
                swaps, and--
                            ``(i) holds itself out as a dealer in 
                        swaps;
                            ``(ii) makes a market in swaps; or
                            ``(iii) engages in any activity causing the 
                        person to be commonly known as a dealer or 
                        market maker in swaps,
                provided however, in no event shall an insured 
                depository institution be considered to be a swap 
                dealer to the extent it offers to enter into a swap 
                with a customer in connection with originating a loan 
                to the customer.
                    ``(B) Inclusion.--A person may be designated as a 
                swap dealer for a single type or single class or 
                category of swap or activities and considered not to be 
                a swap dealer for other types, classes, or categories 
                of swaps or activities.
                    ``(C) Exception.--In determining whether a person 
                is a `swap dealer' within the meaning of subparagraph 
                (A), no consideration shall be given to any transaction 
                entered into for the person's own account for the 
                purpose of--
                            ``(i) hedging or mitigating commercial 
                        risk; or
                            ``(ii) achieving the person's own trading 
                        or investment objectives.
                    ``(D) De minimis exception.--The Commission shall 
                exempt from designation as a swap dealer an entity that 
                enters into swap dealing transactions with or on behalf 
                of the person's customers if the aggregate gross 
                notional amount of the outstanding swap dealing 
                transactions entered into over the course of the 
                preceding calendar year does not exceed $3,000,000,000 
                (or such greater amount as the Commission may establish 
                as market conditions warrant), multiplied by the sum of 
                1 and the percentage (if any) by which the Consumer 
                Price Index for all Urban Customers published by the 
                Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor 
                changed for the 12-month period ending the preceding 
                April 30.''.
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