The NFA modified proposed amendments to Compliance Rules and Interpretive Notices to cover transactions and counterparties relating to swaps, as well as other commodity interests ( e.g., futures). ( See here for previous coverage.) Specifically, the NFA withdrew its proposal to amend NFA Compliance Rule 3-1 ("Department of Compliance") that would have deleted that rule's limited purpose definition of commodity interest.

The NFA proposed (i) amendments to NFA Bylaw 301 and NFA Compliance Rule 2-24, and (ii) an Interpretive Notice relating to proficiency requirements for individuals engaged in swaps activities. In general, the amendments require that any individual engaged in swaps activities (whether registered as a swap firm intermediary or swap associated person ("AP")), or simply acting as an AP of a swap dealer, satisfy NFA's Swaps Proficiency Requirements. The NFA proposed to amend: NFA Bylaw 301(I) to specify that "any individual applying for approval" as a futures commission merchant, introducing a

The North American Securities Administration ("NASAA") offered a legislative agenda for the 116th Congress. According to NASAA, Congress should: support "enhanced standards of conduct for broker-dealers"; "encourage, monitor, and responsibly regulate financial innovation" (NASAA stated it would discourage so-called regulatory "sandboxes," and call for "rigorous oversight" of cryptocurrency and ICOs); "address intergenerational investor issues" (including addressing senior financial exploitation and providing investor education for millennials); "maintain enforcement independence of state

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") provided technical specifications to help prepaid account issuers submit their prepaid account agreements online. The Prepaid Accounts Rule, which will become effective on April 1, 2019, will give prepaid debit cards and associated accounts federal protections that already exist for checking accounts and credit cards. The new CFPB technical specifications address the form and manner for submissions of prepaid account agreements to the CFPB, pursuant to Regulation E and Regulation Z. Under CFPB Rule 1005.19, added by the Prepaid Accounts Rule

The SEC interim final rule modifying the timing for submissions by SEC-registered investment companies of reports on Form N-PORT, and amending Form N-LIQUID, was published in the Federal Register ( see here for previous coverage). The effective date of the interim final rule was March 6, 2019.