7 U.S.C. § 24 — Customer property with respect to commodity broker debtors; definitions

(a) Even though title 11 (the Bankruptcy Code) generally governs, the Commission may, by rule or regulation, address a commodity broker that is a debtor under chapter 7 of title 11. Its rules can decide: (1) which cash, securities, other property, or commodity contracts count as, or are excluded from, "customer property" or "member property"; (2) which cash, securities, other property, or commodity contracts must be treated as belonging to one particular customer in a specific role; (3) how the broker's business should be run or wound down after the bankruptcy petition is filed — including how margin gets paid and divided for commodity contracts not tied to one particular customer, while they are being liquidated in an orderly way; (4) who customer property and commodity contracts may be transferred to under section 766 of title 11; and (5) how a customer's "net equity" is determined. (b) In this section, "commodity broker," "commodity contract," "customer," "customer property," "member property," "net equity," and "security" mean whatever those terms mean under subchapter IV of chapter 7 of title 11. (c) The Commission must use its authority to make sure that securities held in a portfolio margining account that is carried as a futures account count as customer property, and that the owners of those accounts count as customers, for purposes of subchapter IV of chapter 7 of title 11.