• Block Trades

      • To
      • Members, Member Firms and Market Users
      • From
      • Market Regulation Department
      • #
      • CME & CBOT RA1201-3
      • Notice Date
      • 23 May 2012
      • Effective Date
      • 06 June 2012
    • On June 6, 2012, this Advisory Notice will supersede CME & CBOT Market Regulation Advisory Notice RA1110-3 issued on December 5, 2011. It is being issued to add CBOT Black Sea Wheat futures to the list of block-eligible products and to introduce Basis Trade at Index Close (“BTIC”) block trades in CME E-mini S&P Select Sector™ Stock Index futures (“Select Sector futures”). 
       
      Effective on June 6th, CBOT will launch its new Black Sea Wheat futures contract. Upon launch, block trading will be allowed in the new contract at a minimum threshold of 10 contracts.
       
      Effective on June 11th, CME will introduce BTIC Transactions in Select Sector futures. A BTIC Transaction is a futures transaction that is priced with reference to the applicable cash index close price. Beginning June 11th, CME will permit BTIC Transactions in Select Sector futures to be executed as block trades pursuant to the requirements of Rule 526 (“Block Trades”) and the requirements set forth in CME Chapter 369 (“E-mini S&P Select Sector Stock Index Futures”). The current minimum threshold of 50 contracts applicable to Select Sector futures will also apply to BTIC block trades in Select Sector futures. BTIC block trades in Select Sector futures may not be executed as a spread transaction pursuant to the requirements in Section 4 of this Advisory Notice. Parties wishing to effectuate a block spread transaction in BTIC Select Sector futures will be required to negotiate the transaction as separate outright BTIC block trades. Each leg must meet the minimum threshold of 50 contracts and must comply with all other requirements set forth in Rule 526, CME Chapter 369 and this Advisory Notice.
       
      The futures price assigned to the Select Sector futures BTIC block trade will be based on the current day’s Select Sector cash index close price, or the current day’s Select Sector cash index close price adjusted by any valid price increment (the “Basis”) higher or lower than the Select Sector cash Index close price. The Basis must be stated in full tick increments as set forth in CME Rule 36901 (“Commodity Specifications”). The BTIC block trade quantity and the Basis price must be reported to the Exchange within five minutes of the agreement of the parties to execute the trade. Additionally, BTIC block trades must be reported to the Exchange at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled close of the underlying primary securities market to establish the BTIC futures price on the current trading day. A BTIC block trade that is not reported at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled close of the underlying primary securities market will be priced based on the index close price for the next available trading day for the primary securities market.
       
      The futures price of a BTIC block trade will be determined by the Exchange at 3:45 p.m. Central Time and the Exchange-determined price will be final at that time. In the event of an early scheduled close of the primary securities market, the futures price of a BTIC block trade will be determined by the Exchange 45 minutes after the early scheduled close time for the primary securities market, and the Exchange-
      determined price will be final at that time. In the event of an equity market disruption in the primary securities market, all BTIC block trades will be cancelled for that trade date. BTIC block trades will also not be permitted on the last day of trading in an expiring contract month.
       
      For additional information on BTIC transactions, including BTIC block trades, please see today’s release of Special Executive Report S-6249. 
       
      CME and CBOT products in which block trading is permitted appear in Section 10 and the text of CME and CBOT Rule 526 appears in Section 12 of this Advisory Notice.
       
      1.         Definition of Block Trades
       
      Block trades are privately negotiated futures, options or combination transactions that meet certain quantity thresholds which are permitted to be executed apart from the public auction market. All block trades are subject to the conditions set forth in CME and CBOT Rule 526 (“Block Trades”) and in this Advisory Notice. Additionally, BTIC block trades are also subject to the requirements set forth in CME Rule 36906.A. (“BTIC Block Trade Requirements”).
       
      2.         Participation in Block Trades
       
      Each party to a block trade must be an Eligible Contract Participant as that term is defined in Section 1a(12) of the Commodity Exchange Act. Eligible Contract Participants generally include exchange members and member firms, broker/dealers, government entities, pension funds, commodity pools, corporations, investment companies, insurance companies, depository institutions and high net-worth individuals. Commodity trading advisors and investment advisors who are registered or exempt from registration, and foreign persons performing a similar role and subject as such to foreign regulation, may participate in block transactions provided they have total assets under management exceeding $25 million and the block trade is suitable for their customers.
       
      A customer order may be executed by means of a block trade only if the customer has specified that the order be executed as a block trade.
       
      Orders may not be bunched to meet the minimum block quantity thresholds.
       
      3.         Time and Prices of Block Trades
       
      Block trades may be executed at any time, including times during which the public auction market is closed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, BTIC block trades may not take place on the last day of trading in an expiring E-mini S&P Select Sector Index futures contract month.
       
      Block trades must be transacted at prices that are “fair and reasonable” in light of (i) the size of the transaction, (ii) the prices and sizes of other transactions in the same contract at the relevant time, (iii) the prices and sizes of transactions in other relevant markets, including, without limitation, the underlying cash market or related futures markets, at the relevant time, and (iv) the circumstances of the markets or the parties to the block trade. The Basis applied to a BTIC block trade must also be fair and reasonable taking into account financing rates, expected dividend income and the time remaining until the applicable E-mini S&P Select Sector Stock Index futures contract expires pursuant to the requirements of CME Rule 36906 (“Basis Trade at Index Close (“BTIC”) Transactions”).
       
      The trade price must be consistent with the minimum tick increment for the market in question. Additionally, each outright transaction and each leg of any block eligible spread or combination trade must be executed at a single price. 
       
      Block trade prices are reported independently of transaction prices in the regular market and are not included as part of the daily trading range. Block trade prices do not elect conditional orders (e.g. stop orders) or otherwise affect orders in the regular market. 
       
      4.         Block Trade Minimum Quantities for Outrights, Spreads and Combinations
       
      The block trade minimum quantity requirements for outright futures and options are set forth in the list of block trade eligible products in Section 10 of this Advisory Notice. Additional information with respect to spreads and combinations executed as blocks appears below. 
       
      a) Intra-Commodity Futures Spreads and Futures Combinations
       
                  i) All Products Excluding U.S. Treasury, OTR Treasury Yield, Interest Rate Swap and GSCI Futures
       
      Intra-commodity futures spreads and futures combinations may be executed as block trades provided that the sum of the quantities of the legs meets the minimum block quantity threshold. For example, 2,000 Eurodollar future calendar spreads executed during RTH hours would meet the Eurodollar futures minimum quantity requirement of 4,000 contracts.
       
                  ii) U.S. Treasury, OTR Treasury Yield and Interest Rate Swap Futures
       
      Intra-commodity calendar spread block trades are prohibited in CBOT U.S. Treasury futures, OTR Treasury Yield and Interest Rate Swap futures. Parties may not execute contingent block trades in outright contracts to circumvent the prohibition on the execution of block trades in intra-commodity calendar spreads. Additionally, Tandem spreads may not be executed as block trades.   
       
                  iii) GSCI Futures
       
      In GSCI futures and GSCI Excess Return Index futures the block trade minimum is 300 contracts for each leg of the spread or combination. For example, the minimum quantity for a GSCI calendar spread would require 300 contracts in each leg of the spread for a total of 600 contracts while a GSCI futures butterfly would require a minimum volume of 1,200 contracts.
       
      b) Inter-Commodity Futures Spreads
       
                  i) Short Term Interest Rate Futures
       
      In Short Term Interest Rate futures (Eurodollars, Eurodollar E-minis, Euribor, T-Bills, OIS, One-Month Eurodollar, Euroyen and 30-Day Fed Funds), inter-commodity futures spreads may be executed as block trades provided that the sum of the legs of the spread meets the larger of the threshold requirements for the underlying products. For example, the minimum quantity thresholds for One-Month Eurodollar and Eurodollars during ETH are 200 and 2,000 contracts, respectively. Therefore, a block trade in the One-Month Eurodollar/Eurodollar spread can be executed provided that the sum of the legs is at least 2,000 contracts. 
       
                  ii) U.S. Treasury, OTR Treasury Yield, Interest Rate Swap and 10-Year Sovereign Yield Spread Futures
       
      In U.S. Treasury, OTR Treasury Yield, Interest Rate Swap and 10-Year Sovereign Yield Spread futures, inter-commodity futures spreads may be executed as block trades provided that each leg of the spread meets the minimum threshold requirement for the respective underlying products. For example, the minimum quantity thresholds for 10-Year Notes and U.S. Treasury Bonds during RTH are 5,000 and 3,000 contracts, respectively. Therefore, a block trade in the NOB spread (10-Year Note/Treasury Bond spread) can be executed only if the minimum quantity of the 10-Year Note leg of the spread is at least 5,000 contracts and the minimum quantity of the Treasury Bond leg of the spread is at least 3,000 contracts.
       
                  iii) All Other Products
       
      In all other block-eligible products, inter-commodity futures spreads may be executed as block trades provided that the quantity of each leg of the spread meets the larger of the threshold requirements for the underlying products. 
       
      c) Intra-Commodity Option Spreads and Combinations
       
      Intra-commodity option spreads and combinations may be executed as block trades provided that the quantity of each leg of the spread meets the designated minimum quantity threshold.
       
      d) Inter-Commodity Option Spreads and Combinations
       
      Inter-commodity option spreads and combinations may be executed as block trades provided that the quantity of each leg of the spread meets the larger of the threshold requirements for the underlying products.
       
      e) Options/Futures Spreads
       
      In general, options/futures spreads may be executed as block trades provided that the options component of the spread meets the minimum quantity threshold for the outright option or option combination and the quantity of futures executed is consistent with the delta of the options component of the spread. An exception applies to Weather and Housing options/futures spreads, where the legs of the spread may be summed to meet the 20-contract minimum threshold.
       
      5.         Block Trade Reporting Requirements
       
      a) Time Requirements
       
      i) All Block Trades Excluding Interest Rates Outside of RTH and Weather and Housing at all Times
       
      Block trades must be reported to the Exchange by the seller within five minutes of the transaction.
       
      ii) Interest Rate Block Trades Outside of RTH
       
      Block trades executed during ETH or ATH must be reported to the Exchange by the seller within fifteen minutes of the transaction. For purposes of interest rate block trades, RTH, ETH and ATH are defined in Section 10 of this Advisory Notice.
       
      iii) Weather and Housing Block Trades
       
      Block trades must be reported to the Exchange by the seller within fifteen minutes of the transaction.
       
       
       
      b) Reporting Methods
       
      Block trades must be reported to the Exchange via one of the following methods.
       
      i) Globex Control Center (“GCC”)
       
      All block trades (except for block trades in Weather futures and options executed between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Chicago time, Monday – Friday on regular business days – see subsection iv below) may be reported to the GCC. The seller reports the trade by calling the GCC at 312.456.2391. When the GCC is closed – for example, during the weekend – the block trade must be reported no later than five minutes prior to the opening of the next electronic trading session for that product.
       
                  ii) CME ClearPort
       
      Block trades may be electronically reported directly to CME Clearing via CME ClearPort. For information on reporting block trades through CME ClearPort, please contact customer service at 1.800.438.8616 or via email at ClearPort@cmegroup.com.
       
      iii) Weather Blocks on CME Clearing360 via Pivot Instant Markets
       
      Block trades in Weather futures and options may be electronically reported directly to CME Clearing360 via Pivot Instant Markets by eligible inter-dealer brokers. For additional information on reporting block trades via Pivot Instant Markets, please contact Angie DiCarlo, Associate Director, CME Group Alternative Investments at 312.930.4515 or via email at Angie.DiCarlo@cmegroup.com.
       
      iv) Weather Block Trades Executed Between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
       
      Block trades in Weather futures and options executed between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Chicago time, Monday – Friday on regular business days should be reported to Exchange staff by calling 312.648.3935 or 312.648.3936.
       
      When reporting a block trade, the following information will be required:
       
      • Name and phone number of the clearing firm representative reporting the trade (unless the block trade is electronically reported);
      • Buyer’s clearing firm and seller’s clearing firm;
      • Contract, contract month and contract year for futures;
      • Contract, contract month, contract year, strike price and put or call designation for standard options, as well as the expiration date and exercise style for flex options;
      • Quantity of the trade or, for spreads and combinations, the quantity of each leg of the trade;
      • Price of the trade or, for spreads and combinations, the price of each leg of the trade; and
      • Execution time (in Central Time) of the trade (i.e. the time at which the trade was consummated).
       
      6.         Block Trade Submission Requirements to CME Clearing
       
      Block trades reported to the GCC or Exchange staff as described in numbers i) or v) above must be submitted to CME Clearing through the Front-End Clearing (“FEC”) User Interface via the portal under BLOCK entry. For block trades executed between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Central Time, firms must submit the trade within one hour. For block trades executed between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Central Time, firms must submit the trade no later than 7:00 a.m. Central Time.
       
      Block trades are entered by both the buyer’s and seller’s clearing firm and go through a two-sided match process. Upon entry, confirmation records will be routed back to the firms for bookkeeping purposes. When reporting spread or combination transactions, each leg must be entered individually. The execution time is required to be entered and must be the actual time at which the transaction was consummated by the two parties, not the time at which the trade is reported by the parties to their respective firms. Thus, if the clearing member has not acted as either principal or agent in the transaction, it must ensure that its customer provides an accurate execution time.
       
      A block trade in a block-eligible option may be executed up to and including the day on which an option contract expires for purposes of offsetting an open option position. The offsetting block trade must be reported to the GCC pursuant to the requirements of section 4 above, and the offset must be reported to CME Clearing no later than the Position Change Submission (“PCS”) deadline on the day on which the option contract expires. The current PCS deadline is 7:30 p.m. Central Time.
       
      7.         Block Trade Recordkeeping
       
      Complete order records for block trades must be created and maintained pursuant to Rule 536 and CFTC Regulations. However, as noted in Section 5, the time of execution of the block trade must also be recorded.
       
      8.         Dissemination of Block Trade Information
       
      The date, execution time, contract details, price and quantity of block trades are reported upon receipt of the block information by GCC. Block trade information is reported on the MerQuote system and may be accessed by entering the code “BLK”. The information will also be displayed on cmegroup.com at the following link: http://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/blocktrades.html. Block trade information is also displayed on the trading floor.
       
      Block trade prices are published separately from transactions in the regular market. Block trade volume is also included with other privately negotiated transactions in the daily volume reports published by the exchange.
       
      9.         Pre-Execution Communications
       
      The prohibition on prearranged trading and the requirements related to pre-execution communications with respect to certain Globex trades set forth in Rule 539 do not apply to block trades.
       
      10.        CME & CBOT Block Trade-Eligible Products
       
      For purposes of the interest rate products in the tables, the following times apply:
       
      ETH:   12:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. CT, Monday through Friday on regular business days
      RTH:   7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday on regular business days
      ATH:   4:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. CT, Monday through Friday on regular business days and at all times on weekends

      CME Products
              Futures
         Options
      Flex Options
      Eurodollars (RTH)
      4,000 contracts - or 1,000 contracts provided that a minimum of 1,000 contracts are transacted in yrs 6-10
      10,000 contracts
      Not Available
      Eurodollars (ETH)
      2,000 contracts – or 500 contracts provided that a minimum of 500 contracts are transacted in yrs 6-10
       
      5,000 contracts
      Not Available
      CME Products
              Futures
         Options
      Flex Options
      Eurodollars (ATH)
      1,000 contracts – or 250 contracts provided that a minimum of 250 contracts are transacted in yrs 6-10
      2,500 contracts
      Not Available
      Eurodollar E-mini futures (RTH)
      40,000 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Eurodollar E-mini futures (ETH)
      20,000 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Eurodollar E-mini futures (ATH)
      10,000 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      3-Month Overnight Index Swaps (OIS)(RTH)
      2,000 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      3-Month Overnight Index Swaps (OIS)(ETH)
      1,000 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      3-Month Overnight Index Swaps (OIS)(ATH)
      500 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      3-Month OIS/Eurodollar spread (RTH)
       
      4,000 contracts (all legs combined)
      Not available
      Not available
      3-Month OIS/Eurodollar spread (ETH)
       
      2,000 contracts (all legs combined)
      Not available
      Not available
      3-Month OIS/Eurodollar spread (ATH)
       
      1,000 contracts (all legs combined)
      Not available
      Not available
      T-Bills (RTH)
      100 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      T-Bills (ETH)
      50 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      T-Bills (ATH)
      25 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Euroyen (RTH)
      200 contracts
      200 contracts
      Not available
      Euroyen (ETH)
      100 contracts
      100 contracts
      Not available
      Euroyen (ATH)
      50 contracts
      50 contracts
      Not available
      One-Month Eurodollar (RTH)
      400 contracts
      400 contracts
      Not available
      One-Month Eurodollar (ETH)
      200 contracts
      200 contracts
      Not available
      One-Month Eurodollar (ATH)
      100 contracts
      100 contracts
      Not available
      10-Year Sovereign Yield Spread
      250 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Three-Month Euribor
      2,000 contracts (nearest 20 March quarterly cycle delivery months and non-March quarterly cycle delivery months)
       
      500 contracts (farthest 20 March quarterly cycle delivery months)
      Not available
      Not available
      Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
      50 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Eurozone Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)
      50 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      S&P 500*
      Not available
      250 contracts
      250 contracts
      NASDAQ-100*
      200 contracts - outrights only
      100 contracts
      100 contracts
      S&P SmallCap 600, E-mini S&P SmallCap 600, E-mini NASDAQ Composite Index, E-mini S&P Select Sector Stock Index
      50 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      E-mini S&P CNX Nifty Index
      50 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      E-micro S&P CNX Nifty Index
      250 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      CME Products
              Futures
         Options
      Flex Options
      TRAKRS Indexes
      100,000 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      S&P MidCap 400*, S&P 500/Citigroup Growth, S&P 500/Citigroup Value, Nikkei  225
      50 contracts
      250 contracts
      250 contracts
      Custom Stock Index/SGI Wise US
      50 contracts
      Not Available
      Not available
      Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI), GSCI Excess Return Index
      50 contracts for outrights – 300 contracts for each leg
      of a spread transaction
      Not available
      Not available
      International Skimmed Milk Powder
      20 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      EUR/USD 1-Month and 3-Month Realized Volatility
      50 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      EUR/USD*, JPY/USD*
      150 contracts
      250 contracts
      Not available
      AUD/USD, CAD/USD, CHF/USD, GBP/USD, MXN/USD
      100 contracts
      250 contracts
      Not available
      EUR/GBP, EUR/CHF, EUR/JPY, NZD/USD, BRL/USD, CZK/USD, CZK/EUR, HUF/EUR, HUF/USD, ILS/USD, KRW/USD, PLN/USD, PLN/EUR, RMB/USD, RMB/EUR, RMB/JPY, RUB/USD, ZAR/USD, USD/TRY, EUR/TRY
       
      50 contracts
       
      250 contracts
       
      Not available
      AUD/CAD, AUD/JPY, AUD/NZD, CAD/JPY, CHF/JPY, EUR/AUD, EUR/CAD, EUR/NOK, EUR/SEK, GBP/JPY, GBP/CHF, NOK/USD, SEK/USD
      50 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Dow Jones CME FX$INDEX
      50 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Weather
      20 contracts
      20 contracts
      Not available
      Wood Pulp
      25 contracts
      25 contracts
      Not available
      Housing
      20 contracts
      20 contracts
      Not available
      U.S. Dollar Cash Settled Crude Palm Oil
      10 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Cheese
      20 contracts
      Not available
      Not available

      *      NOT applicable to E-mini or E-micro FX or E-mini equity indexes except those listed above.
       

      CBOT Products
              Futures
         Options
      Flex Options
      2-Year Treasury Notes (RTH)
      5,000 contracts**
      2,000 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      2-Year Treasury Notes (ETH)
      2,500 contracts**
      1,000 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      2-Year Treasury Notes (ATH)
      1,250 contracts**
      500 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      3-Year Treasury Notes (RTH)
      5,000 contracts**
      Not available
      Not available
      3-Year Treasury Notes (ETH)
      2,500 contracts**
      Not available
      Not available
      3-Year Treasury Notes (ATH)
      1,250 contracts**
      Not available
      Not available
      5- and 10-Year Treasury Notes (RTH)
      5,000 contracts**
      7,500 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      5- and 10-Year Treasury Notes (ETH)
      2,500 contracts**
      3,750 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      CBOT Products
              Futures
         Options
      Flex Options
      5- and 10-Year Treasury Notes (ATH)
      1,250 contracts**
      1,875 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      U.S. Treasury Bonds (RTH)
      3,000 contracts**
      7,500 contracts
       
      Same as Non-Flex Options
       
      U.S. Treasury Bonds (ETH)
      1,500 contracts**
      3,750 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      U.S. Treasury Bonds (ATH)
      750 contracts**
      1,875 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      Long-Term (Ultra) Treasury Bonds (RTH)
      2,000 contracts**
      Not available
      Not available
      Long-Term (Ultra) Treasury Bonds (ETH)
      1,500 contracts**
      Not available
      Not available
      Long-Term (Ultra) Treasury Bonds (ATH)
      750 contracts**
      Not available
      Not available
      2-, 5- and 10-Year OTR Treasury Yield (RTH)
      2,000 contracts**
      Not available
      Not available
      2-, 5- and 10-Year OTR Treasury Yield (ETH)
      1,000 contracts**
      Not available
      Not available
      2-, 5- and 10-Year OTR Treasury Yield (ATH)
      500 contracts**
      Not available
      Not available
      30-Day Fed Funds (RTH)
      2,000 contracts
      1,500 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      30-Day Fed Funds (ETH)
      1,000 contracts
      750 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      30-Day Fed Funds (ATH)
      500 contracts
      375 contracts
      Same as Non-Flex Options
      5-, 7-, 10- and 30-Year Interest Rate Swaps (RTH)
      2,000 contracts
      500 contracts
      Not available
      5-, 7-, 10- and 30-Year Interest Rate Swaps (ETH)
      1,000 contracts
      500 contracts
       
      Not available
       
      5-, 7-, 10- and 30-Year Interest Rate Swaps (ATH)
      500 contracts
      500 contracts
      Not available
      Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Excess Return
      300 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index
      50 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Ethanol
      10 contracts
      10 contracts
      Not available
      Distillers’ Dried Grain
      10 contracts
      Not available
      Not available
      Black Sea Wheat
      10 contracts
      Not available
      Not available

      **     Block trading of intra-commodity Treasury, OTR Treasury Yield and Interest Rate Swap futures calendar spreads              is prohibited.
      11.        Contact Information
       
      Questions regarding this advisory may be directed to the following individuals:
       
      Market Regulation:        Colin Garvey, Investigations                                          312.435.3656
                                          Robert Sniegowski, Rules & Regulatory Outreach           312.341.5991
                                          Erin Schwartz, Rules & Regulatory Outreach                   312.341.3083
      CME Clearing:               CME Clearing Support                                                   312.207.2525
       
      For media inquiries concerning this Advisory Notice, please contact CME Group Corporate Communications at 312.930.3434 or news@cmegroup.com.
       
      12.        Text of CME & CBOT Rule 526
       
      Rule 526               BLOCK TRADES
      The Exchange shall designate the products in which block trades shall be permitted and determine the minimum quantity thresholds for such transactions. The following shall govern block trades:
      A.       A block trade must be for a quantity that is at or in excess of the applicable minimum threshold.  Orders may not be aggregated in order to achieve the minimum transaction size, except by those entities described in Sections I. and J. 
      B.       Each party to a block trade must be an Eligible Contract Participant as that term is defined in Section 1a(12) of the Commodity Exchange Act.
      C.       A member shall not execute any order by means of a block trade for a customer unless such customer has specified that the order be executed as a block trade.
      D.       The price at which a block trade is executed must be fair and reasonable in light of (i) the size of the block trade, (ii) the prices and sizes of other transactions in the same contract at the relevant time, (iii) the prices and sizes of transactions in other relevant markets, including without limitation the underlying cash market or related futures markets, at the relevant time, and (iv) the circumstances of the markets or the parties to the block trade.
      E.       Block trades shall not set off conditional orders (e.g., Stop Orders and MIT Orders) or otherwise affect orders in the regular market.
      F.       CME - The seller must ensure that each block trade is reported to the Exchange within five minutes of the time of execution; except that block trades in interest rate futures and options executed outside of Regular Trading Hours (7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Central Time, Monday – Friday on regular business days) and Housing and Weather futures and options must be reported within fifteen minutes of the time of execution. The report must include the contract, contract month, price, quantity of the transaction, the respective clearing members, the time of execution, and, for options, strike price, put or call and expiration month. The Exchange shall promptly publish such information separately from the reports of transactions in the regular market.
      F.       CBOT - The seller must ensure that each block trade is reported to the Exchange within five minutes of the time of execution; except that block trades in interest rate futures and options executed outside of Regular Trading Hours (7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Central Time, Monday – Friday on regular business days) must be reported within fifteen minutes of the time of execution. The report must include the contract, contract month, price, quantity of the transaction, the respective clearing members, the time of execution, and, for options, strike price, put or call and expiration month. The Exchange shall promptly publish such information separately from the reports of transactions in the regular market.
      G.       Block trades must be reported to the Clearing House in accordance with an approved reporting method.
      H.       Clearing members and members involved in the execution of block trades must maintain a record of the transaction in accordance with Rule 536.
      I.         A commodity trading advisor ("CTA") registered or exempt from registration under the Act, including, without limitation, any investment advisor registered or exempt from registration under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, shall be the applicable entity for purposes of Sections A., B., C., and D., provided such advisors have total assets under management exceeding $25 million and the block trade is suitable for the customers of such advisors.
      J.        A foreign Person performing a similar role or function to a CTA or investment advisor as described in Section I, and subject as such to foreign regulation, shall be the applicable entity for purposes of Sections A., B., C., and D., provided such Persons have total assets under management exceeding $25 million and the block trade is suitable for the customers of such Persons.

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