Bill > S2330

This bill, the End-User Protection Act of 2014, aims to improve the trading of futures and swaps, which are financial contracts whose value is derived from an underlying asset, by amending the Commodity Exchange Act. Key provisions include defining a "commercial market participant" as any producer, processor, merchant, or commercial user of certain commodities or their products, and establishing a "de minimis exception" that exempts entities from being considered a swap dealer if they engage in a very small amount of swap dealing, specifically less than $8 billion. The bill also clarifies the definition of a "financial entity" to include commercial market participants not supervised by a prudential regulator, and defines what constitutes the "same commercial enterprise" for the purpose of certain exemptions. Furthermore, it introduces requirements for reporting swap transactions in "illiquid markets," defined as markets where trading volume and frequency allow for the identification of individual participants, with public reporting delayed to protect participant anonymity and market liquidity. The bill also addresses the treatment of affiliates, the applicability of rules to bona fide hedging transactions (transactions used to offset risk), and reporting and recordkeeping requirements for unregistered persons. Finally, it mandates that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), before issuing regulations or orders, must conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis, considering factors like market participant protection, market efficiency, liquidity, price discovery, and the least burdensome approach to regulation.