CFTC: US derivatives registration, customer funds and reparations

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission describes its mission in terms of sound regulation and the integrity of US derivatives markets. Its registration-check page directs users to NFA BASIC for relevant firms and individuals.[1][2]

Authority

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Jurisdiction

United States

Authority type

Statutory regulator

Remit

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulates US derivatives markets and provides official routes to registration checks, disciplinary information and its RED List.

Open the official register ↗

Check the exact legal entity, permissions, current status and scope in the official record. A brand connection in our coverage does not establish authorisation.

In OTC forex the dealer, rather than an exchange order book, is the customer’s counterparty. The CFTC describes 2% opening margin for major currency pairs and 5% for other pairs; higher requirements may apply. At a hypothetical 2% requirement, USD 100,000 of exposure requires USD 2,000 of margin. Losses can exceed that deposit, so a margin rule is not negative-balance insurance.[4]

The CFTC also publishes selected monthly financial information for futures commission merchants and retail foreign exchange dealers. Filings are due within 17 business days after month-end; publication generally follows within another 12 business days of filing and can take longer. The reporting date matters: a table retrieved today does not show today’s balance sheet.[8]

The CFTC reparations programme can decide monetary claims involving a professional registered with the CFTC at the time of the alleged wrongdoing or the complaint. The claimant must allege a Commodity Exchange Act or CFTC-rule violation that caused the claimed loss. Its guidance requires filing within the applicable two-year violation/discovery limitation period; do not wait for informal negotiations to resolve a deadline question.[6]

Reparations is not available while the same claim is pursued in a parallel proceeding such as arbitration, or against a respondent in bankruptcy or receivership. In an insolvency, the bankruptcy trustee or receiver handles customer claims. Choosing a forum and preserving its deadline are therefore separate from reporting suspected wrongdoing.[6]

For suspected fraud use the CFTC’s official complaint route linked from its retail-forex advisory. Preserve the agreement, statements, order records, payments and correspondence. A misconduct report supplies information to the regulator; it is not itself a filed reparations case. Registration and disciplinary checks remain available through the CFTC check page and NFA BASIC.[4][2]

Use the enforcement-actions archive for allegations, dispositions and orders, and read the procedural status of each item. The disciplinary-history page serves a different purpose: its reparations-sanctions list identifies unpaid awards with sanctions still in effect. The CFTC removes a name when adequate payment evidence is received, so absence from that list is not a clean disciplinary-history certificate.[10][11]

This profile has not yet established the applicable procedure, receiving body and eligibility for this task. Consult the authority’s official resources and check your firm, product and circumstances before acting.

Resource availability describes the documented route. It does not establish eligibility, authorisation or compensation coverage.