Sole Source _CUSIP Final (004).pdf

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Source Selection Information -- See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

FAR 13.106-1(B)(1)(i)

CFTC intends to solicit on a sole-source basis. The following rationale is provided in accordance with the requirements of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i).

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

This sole source justification has been prepared by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”), Business Operations Branch (BOB), 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The action being approved is award of a firm-fixed-price contract to S&P Global, for subscription and data access.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including estimated value).

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposes to enter into a contract with S&P Global (S&P) for access to the Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures (CUSIP) Global Services dataset from S&P Global. The CUSIP Global Services is managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA) by S&P Global Market Intelligence and is the only source of the dataset.

Online access to this data is vital for CFTC staff in performing oversight and investigatory responsibilities of the agency. The contract is for a base period of one (1) year, with four (4) one-year option periods. The award price, including options, is $250,000.00.

4. An identification of the authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The authority permitting other than full and open competition for this requirement is FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) “exclusive licensing agreements.”

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

The information in the CUSIP data set is only available from S&P and CFTC knows of no alternative source that can provide the data set. The CUSIP dataset contains identifiers, standardized descriptions and data for more than 50 million financial instruments and entities worldwide. CUSIP identifiers are essential in driving efficient trading, clearing and settlement in capital markets worldwide by providing a unique common language for identifying financial instruments. Without access to this data, CFTC’s regulatory operations would be significantly impeded and there would be an increased risk to achieving CFTC’s mission.

6. A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

Pursuant to the requirements of FAR 5.201(b)(1)(i), CFTC posted a pre-solicitation notice of its intent to enter into a contract with S&P on a sole source basis. The notice described CFTC’s requirements, and stated that it would consider responses from all responsible sources received. The announcement was posted on September 14, 2021 with a response date of September 20, 2021. No responses to the announcement were received. Therefore, negotiations were conducted with S&P on a non-competitive basis.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

S&P submitted a quote that is reasonable and allows the CFTC to have access to required market information and data needed to fulfill agency market responsibilities. The cost is determined to be fair and reasonable for the subscriptions and data access renewals based on a comparison with historical rates paid by the agency for similar access to data.

8. A description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

The CFTC Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) identify sources for publications and data (both online and hard copy) that are needed to facilitate the fulfillment of their responsibilities. Because of the regulatory responsibilities of the agency, the required subscriptions and data are unique and highly specialized. The Contracting Officer verified that the contractor is the only supplier of the needed data. However, as described in section 6 of this justification, and per the requirements of FAR 5.201(b)(1)(i) CFTC posted a notice in SAM of the Commission’s intent to negotiate a contract for the needed subscriptions on a sole source basis. The announcement stated that all responses would be considered, but none were received.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

N/A

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

As stated in sections 6 and 8 of this justification, no sources expressed an interest in this requirement. No responses were received to the SAM notice.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

Due to the nature of this acquisition, competition is limited to the sole source for publishing the required data/publications needed to carry-out the responsibilities of the agency. When completing subsequent acquisitions for this requirement, the agency will follow all mandated procedures for competing the requirement.

Certifications and Approvals

Technical Personnel Certification I certify that the data supporting the recommendation to solicit and award on an other than full and open competitive basis is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Norma Ruiz Date Librarian

Contracting Officer’s Certification Pursuant to FAR 13.501(a)(2)(i), I certify that the data supporting the recommendation to solicit and award on an other than full and open competitive basis is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Benjamin Van Wormer Date Contracting Officer