Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. The question-and-answer session will be conduct electronically. If you would like to ask a question, please do so by pressing the star key followed by the digit one on your touch-tone telephone. If you are using a speakerphone, please make sure that your mute function is off to allow your signals to reach our equipment. Once again, it''s star one to pose a question.
We''ll go first to Roger Freeman of Barclays Capital.
Roger Freeman – Barclays Capital
Hi. Good morning. I guess, first on the proposed rules from the CFTC around positions. It sounds like it kind of came out in the range of what you had been arguing for. And I guess the question there is, do you have an estimate on -- if you kind of look at dealer prop trading, some large hedge funds that run regularly above the accountability limits today? What kind of volume impact do you think it will ultimately have given these actual numbers they put out?
Craig S. Donohue
Roger, it''s Craig. We''re still in the process of examining the CFTC''s proposal. I think that in general, the Commission has done a good job of taking feedback and input from a variety of sources within the industry from the time that they first had their hearings in the fall. There''s a lot of complexity in various aspects of their proposal which we and other market participants are still digesting. And I''m expecting that not only CME Group but certainly others will be taking the opportunity to comment rather extensively on those proposals.
In general at the moment, I do think that it''s not likely that the proposals as we understand them will have any kind of significant impact on trading volumes or open interests. And so from that perspective, we''re viewing that favorably. But as I mentioned, there''s a great deal of complexity in the proposals and we''re still digesting them.
Roger Freeman – Barclays Capital
Okay. Great. That''s helpful. And then I guess my second question, just be around CDF volumes. I know you''re sort of in a soft launch phase. There was an initial burst of activity sort of mid-December. It kind of looks like the dealers were trying to just check off the box to sort of meet the deadline. And there really hasn''t been much since. Are there still sort of issues outstanding with the dealers that need to be addressed from a clearing perspective to move the ball forward there?
Kimberly S. Taylor
This is Kim. We are in the middle of a stage as we mentioned. We are working with the dealers for plans for the launch scheduled to expand the set of product and the set of customers that would be able to participate. So I think we are on target for doing that within the first quarter. But we have not ramped up that process yet.
Roger Freeman – Barclays Capital
Okay. All right. Thanks.
Operator
We''ll go next to Mike Vinciquerra with BMO Capital Markets.
Michael Vinciquerra – BMO Capital Markets
Thank you. Good morning, guys.
Craig S. Donohue
|