12 CFR §240.2
Verified against eCFR.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on eCFR.gov ↗
For purposes of this part, the following terms have the same meaning as in the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.): “affiliated person of a futures commission merchant”; “associated person”; “contract of sale”; “commodity”; “futures commission merchant”; “future delivery”; “option”; “security”; and “security futures product.”
- (a)Affiliate has the same meaning as in section 2(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841(k)).
- (b)Banking institution means:
- (1)A state member bank (as defined in 12 CFR 208.2);
- (2)An uninsured state-licensed U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank;
- (3)A financial holding company (as defined in section 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956; 12 U.S.C. 1841);
- (4)A bank holding company (as defined in section 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956; 12 U.S.C. 1841);
- (5)A savings and loan holding company (as defined in section 10 of the Home Owners Loan Act; 12 U.S.C. 1467a)
- (6)A corporation operating under the fifth undesignated paragraph of section 25 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 603), commonly known as “an agreement corporation;” and
- (7)A corporation organized under section 25A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 611 et seq.), commonly known as an “Edge Act corporation.”
- (c)Commodity Exchange Act means the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).
- (d)Eligible contract participant has the same meaning as in the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq., as implemented in 17 CFR 1.3(m).
- (e)Forex means foreign exchange.
- (f)Identified banking product has the same meaning as in section 401(b) of the Legal Certainty for Bank Products Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 27(b)).
- (g)Institution-affiliated party or IAP has the same meaning as in 12 U.S.C. 1813(u)(1), (2), or (3).
- (h)Introducing broker means any person who solicits or accepts orders from a retail forex customer in connection with retail forex transactions.
- (i)Related person, when used in reference to a retail forex counterparty, means:
- (1)Any general partner, officer, director, or owner of ten percent or more of the capital stock of the retail forex counterparty;
- (2)An associated person or employee of the retail forex counterparty, if the retail forex counterparty is not an insured depository institution;
- (3)An IAP, if the retail forex counterparty is an insured depository institution; and
- (4)Any relative or spouse of any of the foregoing persons, or any relative of such spouse, who shares the same home as any of the foregoing persons.
- (j)Retail foreign exchange dealer means any person other than a retail forex customer that is, or that offers to be, the counterparty to a retail forex transaction, except for a person described in item (aa), (bb), (cc)(AA), (dd), or (ff) of section 2(c)(2)(B)(i)(II) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 2(c)(2)(B)(i)(II)).
- (k)Retail forex account means the account of a retail forex customer, established with a banking institution, in which retail forex transactions with the banking institution as counterparty are undertaken, or the account of a retail forex customer that is established in order to enter into such transactions.
- (l)Retail forex account agreement means the contractual agreement between a banking institution and a retail forex customer that contains the terms governing the customer's retail forex account with the banking institution.
- (m)Retail forex business means engaging in one or more retail forex transactions with the intent to derive income from those transactions, either directly or indirectly.
- (n)Retail forex counterparty includes, as appropriate:
- (1)A banking institution;
- (2)A retail foreign exchange dealer;
- (3)A futures commission merchant;
- (4)An affiliated person of a futures commission merchant; and
- (5)A broker or dealer registered under section 15(b) (except paragraph (11) thereof) or 15C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78o(b), 78o-5) or a U.S. financial institution other than a banking institution, provided the counterparty is subject to a rule or regulation of a Federal regulatory agency covering retail forex transactions.
- (o)Retail forex customer means a customer that is not an eligible contract participant, acting on his, her, or its own behalf and engaging in retail forex transactions.
- (p)Retail forex proprietary account means a retail forex account carried on the books of a banking institution for one of the following persons; a retail forex account of which 10 percent or more is owned by one of the following persons; or a retail forex account of which an aggregate of 10 percent or more of which is owned by more than one of the following persons:
- (1)The banking institution;
- (2)An officer, director or owner of ten percent or more of the capital stock of the banking institution; or
- (3)An employee of the banking institution, whose duties include:
- (i)The management of the banking institution's business;
- (ii)The handling of the banking institution's retail forex transactions;
- (iii)The keeping of records, including without limitation the software used to make or maintain those records, pertaining to the banking institution's retail forex transactions; or
- (iv)The signing or co-signing of checks or drafts on behalf of the banking institution;
- (4)A spouse or minor dependent living in the same household as of any of the foregoing persons; or
- (5)An affiliate of the banking institution;
- (q)Retail forex transaction means an agreement, contract, or transaction in foreign currency, other than an identified banking product or a part of an identified banking product, that is offered or entered into by a banking institution with a person that is not an eligible contract participant and that is:
- (1)A contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery or an option on such a contract; or
- (2)An option, other than an option executed or traded on a national securities exchange registered pursuant to section 6(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78f(a)); or
- (3)Offered or entered into on a leveraged or margined basis, or financed by a banking institution, its affiliate, or any person acting in concert with the banking institution or its affiliate on a similar basis, other than:
- (i)A security that is not a security futures product as defined in section 1a(47) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a(47)); or
- (ii)A contract of sale that—
- (iii)An agreement, contract, or transaction that the Board determines is not functionally or economically similar to an agreement, contract, or transaction described in paragraph (p)(1) or (p)(2) of this section.