Page 22 - 期貨和衍生品行業(yè)監(jiān)管動態(tài)（2024年9月刊）

期貨和衍生品行業(yè)監(jiān)管動態(tài)

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and

settling charges against Nasdaq Futures, Inc., formerly a designated contract market

(DCM). The order finds Nasdaq Futures, Inc. failed to properly establish, monitor, or

enforce rules related to an incentive program Nasdaq Futures, Inc. offered to certain

traders on its DCM. The order also finds Nasdaq Futures, Inc. did not fully disclose

this incentive program’s details to the CFTC or the public consistent with the

requirements of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and Commission Regulations.

In addition, the order finds Nasdaq Futures, Inc. made false and misleading statements

to the CFTC regarding the incentive program. The order requires Nasdaq Futures, Inc.

to pay a $22 million civil monetary penalty.

“The CFTC’s oversight regime depends upon CFTC-designated exchanges

providing the CFTC and market participants accurate information,” said CFTC

Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley. “Nasdaq Futures, Inc.’s conduct here

represents significant violations of both its duty to provide such information and

several statutory Core Principles applicable to CFTC-designated exchanges.”

Case Background

The order finds from July 2015 through July 2018, Nasdaq Futures, Inc. operated
as a DCM focused on energy commodity futures contracts. Nasdaq Futures, Inc.

offered various incentive programs to certain traders on its contract market, including

its “Designated Market Maker” (DMM) program. The DMM program, as disclosed to

the CFTC and the public, paid a fixed monthly stipend to market makers. However,

Nasdaq Futures, Inc. also made payments to a select number of DMM program

participants that were based on the total volume of contracts those participants traded;

this volume-based component was not disclosed to the CFTC, as required by the CEA

and associated regulations. In fact, Nasdaq Futures, Inc.’s rule submissions to the

CFTC regarding its incentive programs omitted or explicitly denied the existence of a

volume-based incentive as part of the DMM program. In addition, when interviewed

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