Extraterritoriality: US person definition doubt

The Dodd-Frank Act requires any trade involving a US person to meet strict new regulatory requirements. The first mandatory clearing requirements are now in force – but the definition of US person is still not finalised, creating havoc for firms trying to prepare for the rules. Nick Sawyer reports

In a regulatory framework that puts so much importance on who is or is not a ‘US person’, it would be easy to assume regulators would have long ago hammered down a clear definition of the term. Not so. Parts of the Dodd-Frank Act are already in effect, and a central tenet of the legislation – mandatory central clearing – began for certain counterparties on March 11. But derivatives users are no closer to knowing for sure who or what will be labelled as a US person. In fact, the Commodity Futures