ICE Futures US has been reprimanded by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for compliance failings that strained the firm's ability to adequately comply with self-regulatory obligations.
The failings were picked up during a routine year-long review of ICE's compliance operations between 2007 and 2008 by the CFTC's Dvision of Market Oversight.
In a statement, the CFTC says: "The Division found that the Exchange's compliance staff, although very experienced, has been reduced since the Division last conducted a comparable review in 2004. In addition, several significant events occurred during the target period that impacted the compliance department and required its attention. These events placed a notable strain on staff's ability to fulfill important self-regulatory obligations in a timely manner."
As a consequence, the Exchange was unable to complete a saturation audit trail recordkeeping review during the target period and several pending investigations remained open for "excessively long" time-periods.
The CFTC has recommended that ICE Futures hire additional compliance staff and monitor the size and workload of the compliance department and hire in extra staff as circumstances change. The Exchange has also been advised to undertake a review of its electronic audit and record-keeping rules.