Release 9306-26 extends UK swaps no-action to 2027

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) release 9306-26 extends temporary Brexit no-action for certain United Kingdom swap dealers and trading venues until December 31, 2027, and it does not issue the UK comparability determinations or exemptive orders left unfinished since 2019.

Staff Letter 26-28, dated October 1, 2026, supersedes Staff Letter 24-11, as amended by Staff Letter 26-10, with immediate effect. No person may rely on Letter 24-11 after that issuance. What follows is the scope under Commodity Exchange Act section 5h(a)(1), the 25 Appendix A venues, and the duties the letter does not lift.

Key facts

• Release. Press Release 9306-26 (October 1, 2026) announces the extension. The text is Staff Letter No. 26-28.
• Supersession. It extends Staff Letter 24-11, as amended by Staff Letter 26-10 on March 24, 2026. Reliance on Letter 24-11 ends at issuance.
• Outside date. Each position ends on the earlier of a matching Commission action for the United Kingdom or December 31, 2027. Letter 24-11 had used December 31, 2026.
• Dealers. A registered swap dealer may use UK law incorporated by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, on the same conditions as the relevant EU comparability determination.
• Venues. Appendix A names 25 UK facilities. Staff will not recommend enforcement under Commodity Exchange Act section 5h(a)(1) and Commission Regulation 37.3(a)(1).
• Not binding. The letter cites 17 CFR 140.99(a)(2) and reserves power to condition, modify, suspend, terminate or otherwise restrict the positions.
• Contrast. Asset Risk Management, LLC paid a $200,000 civil monetary penalty on September 26, 2022 for an unregistered swap execution facility (Release 8596-22). That order is not a Brexit case.

Methodology and sources

Primary documents opened for this piece are Release 9306-26, Staff Letter 26-28, Staff Letter 26-10 (March 24, 2026) and Staff Letter 24-11. Letter 24-11’s heading reads August 28, 2024. Footnotes in Letters 26-10 and 26-28 date it August 8, 2024. The window runs from Press Release 7876-19 (February 25, 2019) to October 1, 2026. Earlier letters in the chain are cited below. The four Existing Commission Actions are the EU entity-level and transaction-level comparability determinations of December 27, 2013, the uncleared-margin determination of October 18, 2017, and the exemptive order of December 8, 2017. Scope is the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Those determinations are incorporated by reference and are not restated in the 2026 file, so their regulation lists are not reconstructed here.

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What Staff Letter 26-28 actually gives UK firms

Release 9306-26 is the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announcement of October 1, 2026 that the Market Participants Division and the Division of Market Oversight are extending Brexit no-action in Staff Letter 26-28. The letter supersedes Staff Letter 24-11, as amended by Staff Letter 26-10, and takes effect immediately, so no person may rely on Letter 24-11. A registered swap dealer may comply with United Kingdom law incorporated by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, in the same manner and on the same conditions as an EU comparability determination, instead of the Commission regulation that determination found comparable. Those determinations are dated December 27, 2013, for entity-level and transaction-level requirements, and October 18, 2017, for uncleared-swap margin. A venue named in Appendix A is an Eligible UK Facility. Staff will not recommend enforcement under Commodity Exchange Act section 5h(a)(1) and Commission Regulation 37.3(a)(1), or against a counterparty executing a section 2(h)(8) swap there. Both positions end on the earlier of a matching Commission action or December 31, 2027.

The dealer limb is not a waiver. It covers only a regulation “found to be comparable” in one of those three determinations, on that determination’s conditions. The premise is the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, which on December 31, 2020 brought relevant EU law into UK law and gave functions to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Bank of England including the Prudential Regulation Authority, and His Majesty’s Treasury. The Commission and those authorities “have not yet completed this work.”

Footnote 17 keeps other duties on. Parts 43 and 45 still apply to counterparties subject to them, as does CEA section 2(e). A US person’s customer position under CEA section 4d, if cleared, must clear through a registered futures commission merchant at a registered derivatives clearing organization, not an exempt one under CEA section 5b(h). A proprietary position under Regulation 1.3, and a Part 50 clear that is not a customer position, may use a registered or exempt organization. If the venue’s arrangements would miss those paths, its rulebook must require them, as a condition of the registration position. The letter does not register a UK central counterparty.

Appendix A, in the letter’s spelling, is a closed list of 17 multilateral trading facilities and eight organised trading facilities.

The positions bind the divisions only and may be void if material facts change. DJ Hennes signed as Director of the Market Participants Division and Acting Director of the Division of Market Oversight.

How the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union diverge

Sources: Release 9306-26; Staff Letter 26-28; Staff Letter 26-10; Staff Letter 24-11; Release 7876-19; European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018; Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, explanatory notes; 17 CFR 140.99. Last updated: October 3, 2026.

A staff no-action letter is not a Commission exemption, and Release 9306-26 issues only the letter. Staff Letter 26-28 cites 17 CFR 140.99(a)(2): a no-action letter binds the issuing division, not the Commission or other staff. Section 5h(g) of the Commodity Exchange Act lets the Commission exempt a facility from swap execution facility registration if home supervision is comparable and comprehensive. The Commission made that finding for European Union venues on December 8, 2017. It has not made it for the United Kingdom names in Appendix A to Letter 26-28. Those venues have a Division of Market Oversight position until a section 5h(g) order or December 31, 2027, whichever is earlier. The 2013 and 2017 EU comparability determinations stay Commission actions. The UK dealer path ends on the earlier of a covering UK determination or December 31, 2027.

Only the latest appendix counts. Letter 26-10 added OptAxe Limited and Capitolis UK Limited on March 24, 2026, at the FCA’s and Treasury’s request. Both remain. ICAP Securities OTF is on that March list and not on Letter 26-28. TP ICAP UK OTF appears only in October. The new letter does not explain the change. Footnote 12 cites section 86: revocation of retained EU law waits for a Treasury regulation and, in the June 29, 2023 notes, is expected to take “a number of years.” An EU venue on the 2017 order has no December 31, 2027 expiry. A UK Appendix A name does. Rules for registered US venues are separate.

“London is, and will remain, a global center for derivatives trading and clearing. Given the long-established cooperation between the CFTC and the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority, and Her Majesty’s Treasury, I am pleased to announce these important measures. They provide a bridge over Brexit through a durable regulatory framework upon which the thriving derivatives market between the United Kingdom and the United States may continue and endure.”

— J. Christopher Giancarlo, Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC Press Release 7876-19, February 25, 2019)

That statement promised UK orders, with temporary staff relief until they were final. Release 9306-26 extends only the temporary limb. Philip Hammond, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, said “around 97% of the centrally cleared interest rate derivatives market” was located in London. Release 9306-26 does not update that February 25, 2019 figure.

The registration offence the letter does not erase

CEA section 5h(a)(1) bars operating a facility for trading or processing swaps unless it is a registered swap execution facility or a designated contract market. Regulation 37.3(a)(1) is the implementing rule. Letter 26-28 does not repeal it. Staff say they will not recommend enforcement against the named UK venues while the letter lasts.

On September 26, 2022, Release 8596-22 announced an order settling charges against Asset Risk Management, LLC, a registered commodity trading advisor in Houston, for failing to register as a swap execution facility. The order imposes a $200,000 civil monetary penalty and a cease-and-desist. It finds that from approximately September 2017 the firm let clients execute swaps by accepting bids and offers from multiple participants, by telephone, instant messaging and email, often in natural gas, natural gas liquids or crude oil. Where the client had authorised it, the firm accepted or rejected a price, including by writing “done,” against counterparties with which the client had an ISDA agreement. The firm is not on Appendix A, and the 2026 file does not cite the order. The $200,000 figure is that settlement’s sanction, not a tariff for UK venues.

Release 8596-22 points to Staff Letter 21-19 (September 29, 2021), which says another registration, including as a commodity trading advisor, does not itself answer the swap-execution-facility question. Industry Spread’s 2021 report covers an earlier letter, not this appendix.

What the extension means for dealers, venues, clearers and compliance teams

A registered swap dealer may use incorporated UK law only where an EU comparability determination found the Commission regulation comparable, and only on that determination’s conditions. Letter 26-28 does not reprint them. The limb ends on a covering UK determination or on December 31, 2027. Letter 24-11’s December 31, 2026 date cannot be used after October 1, 2026.

For a UK venue, the legal name is the test. The 25 rows above are the Eligible UK Facilities. A similar affiliate is outside them. The letter is not a UK clearing passport, and it is not the euro-clearing question in Industry Spread’s EMIR 3.0 analysis.

A counterparty meets paragraph (b) only by executing the mandated swap on an Eligible UK Facility. Parts 43 and 45 still apply where they apply. That US duty is separate from the FCA timetable in Industry Spread’s report on UK transaction reporting. Introducing-broker relief is not among the four Existing Commission Actions extended here. Staff Letter 26-25 is a different 2026 file.

Reliance on Letter 24-11 ended on October 1, 2026. A Treasury regulation under section 86 that changed a comparable law would be a new fact of the kind that can void the position. The National Futures Association is copied, not given a new condition. Amanda L. Olear and Vincent McGonagle signed Letter 24-11. Frank N. Fisanich signed Letter 26-10. DJ Hennes signed Letter 26-28, which lists Fisanich as Deputy Director of the Market Participants Division. The letters do not explain the titles.

“Failing to register as required by the CEA impairs the CFTC’s ability to monitor swap markets and threatens the integrity of the industry. The Division of Enforcement will continue to bring actions against firms that are operating unregistered swap execution facilities, including those offering non-electronic methods of trading.”

— Gretchen Lowe, Acting Director of Enforcement, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC Press Release 8596-22, September 26, 2022)

What is still unresolved before December 31, 2027

December 31, 2027 is the only outside date Release 9306-26 sets. The dealer limb can end sooner, on the effective date of a UK comparability determination covering the EU determinations. The venue limbs can end sooner, on a CEA section 5h(g) order for UK multilateral trading facilities and organised trading facilities. One action need not retire both. The letter says the work with UK authorities is unfinished, and that the divisions still consider the positions proper. It states no consultation, comment deadline or Commission meeting date.

Since 2019 the record is staff letters, not UK orders: Letters 19-08 (April 5, 2019), 20-39 (November 24, 2020), 21-24 (November 17, 2021) and 22-16 (December 1, 2022). Letter 24-11, which also names Letter 21-17 (August 31, 2021), added two UK multilateral trading facilities and removed one multilateral trading facility and one organised trading facility no longer authorised, without naming them. This article does not supply those names. The divisions may void or suspend the position before December 31, 2027. That is a reservation, not a forecast.

TL;DR

CFTC Release 9306-26 of October 1, 2026 extends Brexit no-action in Staff Letter 26-28 to the earlier of a UK Commission action or December 31, 2027. Registered swap dealers may use UK law incorporated by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 on the conditions of the EU comparability determinations of December 27, 2013 and October 18, 2017. Appendix A names 25 UK venues. Staff will not recommend a swap-execution-facility case against those venues, or against a counterparty executing a CEA section 2(h)(8) swap on one. Parts 43 and 45, section 2(e) and the clearing conditions remain. Under 17 CFR 140.99(a)(2) the letter binds the divisions, not the Commission. Letter 24-11 cannot be relied on. Asset Risk Management, LLC paid a $200,000 penalty on September 26, 2022 for an unregistered venue.

FAQ

What is CFTC release 9306-26?

Release 9306-26 is the Commodity Futures Trading Commission press release of October 1, 2026. It announces that two divisions are extending temporary Brexit no-action in Staff Letter 26-28, which supersedes Staff Letter 24-11 as amended by Staff Letter 26-10. The letter takes effect immediately. It does not adopt a UK comparability determination or an exemption under Commodity Exchange Act section 5h(g).

When does Staff Letter 26-28 expire?

The limbs do not share one trigger. The swap-dealer position ends when a UK comparability determination covering the EU determinations takes effect, or on December 31, 2027, whichever is sooner. The venue positions end on a section 5h(g) order for UK venues, or on that same outside date. Letter 24-11’s December 31, 2026 date cannot be relied on after Letter 26-28.

Which UK venues are covered?

Appendix A to Staff Letter 26-28 names 25 United Kingdom facilities: 17 multilateral trading facilities and eight organised trading facilities. OptAxe Limited and Capitolis UK Limited, added on March 24, 2026, remain. TP ICAP UK OTF is new in October. ICAP Securities OTF was on the March list and is absent now. Letter 26-28 does not explain that change. A firm that is not named is not an Eligible UK Facility.

Does the letter waive reporting or clearing?

No. Parts 43 and 45 still bind counterparties that are subject to them, and CEA section 2(e) still applies. A US person’s customer position under CEA section 4d, if cleared, must clear through a registered futures commission merchant at a registered derivatives clearing organization. Proprietary positions under Regulation 1.3 may use a registered or exempt organization. Part 50 follows that path unless the swap is also a customer position. The venue’s rulebook must require those paths where its arrangements would not.

Can a firm still rely on Staff Letter 24-11?

No. Letter 26-28 supersedes Letter 24-11, is effective immediately, and says no person may rely on Letter 24-11 after issuance. Release 9306-26 and Letter 26-28 are dated October 1, 2026. Letter 24-11’s heading reads August 28, 2024, while Letters 26-10 and 26-28 cite August 8, 2024. Either way, reliance ends when Letter 26-28 is issued. The March 24, 2026 appendix does not survive except where Letter 26-28 restates a name.

Is the letter binding on the Commission?

No. The conclusion says the positions are the two divisions’ views, do not necessarily represent the Commission, and are not binding on it, citing 17 CFR 140.99(a)(2). The divisions may condition, modify, suspend, terminate or otherwise restrict the letter. Changed or omitted material facts may make it void. A UK comparability determination or a section 5h(g) order that takes effect before December 31, 2027 ends the limb it covers on that effective date.

This article is informational analysis only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, tax, or investment advice. Regulatory frameworks change frequently and interpretation depends on facts and circumstances; primary documents and official regulator guidance always supersede summaries. Firms should consult qualified legal counsel and their relevant supervisory authority before taking any action based on the analysis above.