Introduction
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) has issued a Final Order (the Order) that ends the large trader position-reporting requirements for physical commodity swaps under Part 20 of the CFTC Regulations (Part 20). As a result, clearing organizations, clearing members and swap dealers (Reporting Firms) will no longer be required to file the daily and event-based position reports that Part 20 currently requires. The Order went into effect on July 21, 2026.
This legal update explains the background of Part 20, the basis for the Commission’s decision and the implications for market participants.
Background
Origins of Part 20
Part 20 requires large traders in certain physical commodity swaps and swaptions to file position reports with the Commission. The Commission adopted Part 20 in 2011 during the Dodd-Frank rulemaking. At the time, the Commission’s swap data reporting infrastructure was still in its early stages, and Part 20 was intended as a temporary measure to allow the Commission to monitor physical commodity swap activity and enforce position limits until a more comprehensive reporting framework was in place.
The sunset mechanism
Recognizing that Part 20 was designed to be temporary, the Commission adopted a sunset provision. Under CFTC Regulation 20.9(a), the reporting requirements of Part 20 become ineffective once the Commission issues an order determining that swap data repositories (SDRs) are processing positional data in a manner that enables the Commission to effectively monitor trading in the relevant swap markets. The Order is that formal determination.
Evolution of the regulatory framework
Since 2011, the Commission’s swap reporting framework has matured considerably. The CFTC adopted and refined detailed swap data reporting requirements, and established federal position limits on the most significant physical commodity derivatives. Together, these developments have created a comprehensive reporting regime that did not exist when Part 20 was first adopted and that now captures much of the same information that Part 20 was designed to collect.
Industry petitions
Industry groups have urged the Commission to retire Part 20. The Futures Industry Association (FIA) petitioned the Commission in September 2025, and FIA, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association filed a joint petition in May 2026. These petitions argued that Part 20 reporting is duplicative of and in key respects less useful than the data already available through the Commission’s swap data reporting regime, and that the conditions for triggering the sunset provision have been met.
The order
Sunset of routine reporting (pursuant to CFTC Regulation 20.9(a))
The Commission finds that SDRs now process positional data with sufficient accuracy, consistency and coverage to enable the Commission to effectively monitor trading in commodity swaps and swaptions covered by Part 20.
On this basis, and in light of the federal speculative position limits adopted under Part 150, the Commission has determined that the sunset conditions of CFTC Regulation 20.9(a) are satisfied and that the position-reporting requirements of Part 20 are “henceforth ineffective and unenforceable.”
Retention of recordkeeping and special-call provisions (pursuant to CFTC Regulation 20.9(b))
The Commission finds that the recordkeeping and special call provisions remain necessary to supplement SDR data and support the Commission’s surveillance capabilities on a targeted basis.
Implications for market participants
Under Part 20, Reporting Firms have been required to identify in-scope physical commodity swaps, convert those transactions into futures-equivalent positions, validate the resulting data and submit detailed daily reports in addition to meeting swap data reporting requirements. As a result of the Order, Reporting Firms will no longer be required to file the daily and event-based position reports that Part 20 previously mandated.
Ongoing obligations
Although daily filing is ending, Reporting Firms must still maintain records of their paired swap and swaption transactions and the methods used to convert those positions into futures-equivalent measures. These records must be produced to the Commission upon request, and any such request will be appropriately scoped and allow a reasonable time for response.
The Commission views the retained recordkeeping and special-call provisions as a bridge measure. Once the Unique Product Identifier (UPI) framework is extended to cover additional commodity asset classes and the Commission’s swap data infrastructure can derive futures-equivalent position information directly, the Commission expects to reassess whether these retained provisions are still needed.
The Order does not affect market participants’ existing reporting obligations under Parts 43, 45 and 49 of the Commission’s regulations. The broader swap data reporting regime remains fully in effect.
Conclusion
The Order marks a significant milestone in the streamlining of the swaps reporting framework established under Dodd-Frank. By retiring Part 20’s reporting requirements, the Commission acknowledges that its swap data infrastructure has matured to the point where daily large trader reporting is no longer necessary. The elimination of these requirements should deliver substantial cost savings and operational relief to Reporting Firms.
The Commission’s retained special-call authority means that firms must continue to maintain records of their paired swap and swaption transactions and conversion methodologies, and must be prepared to produce them promptly upon request.