Electronifie, a self-described "anonymous all-to-all corporate bond trading marketplace operator," announced that former SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes joined its Board of Directors.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") reviewed the process whereby the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") promulgated new rules on risk-based capital surcharges for global systemically important bank holding companies. The GAO reported its findings in a letter to the Chairpersons and Ranking Members of the Senate Banking Committee and the House Committee on Financial Services. The GAO concluded that the FRB complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule. The GAO's report contains a brief description of the FRB's surcharge rules.

The House of Representatives passed the Homebuyers Assistance Act intended "to help homebuyers avoid delays and disruptions when closing on their new homes." The legislation passed by a vote of 303 to 121. It provides, inter alia, a four-month grace period for businesses that are working "in good faith" to comply with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's implementation of the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule. The House also passed four other bills introduced by the Financial Services Committee including (i) the Small Bank Exam Cycle Reform Act, (ii) the Disclosure Modernization

Effective November 16, 2015, over-the-counter transactions under Regulation NMS Rule 611(a) ("Order Protection Rule") that are reported to FINRA as qualified contingent trades ("QCTs") must be identified as such for purposes of public dissemination. FINRA emphasized that this change affects dissemination only; firms are not required to change the way in which they report QCTs to FINRA.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") issued an outline of proposals for potential rulemaking on arbitration agreements under consideration by its Small Business Advisory Review Panel. The outline shows, among other things, that the CFPB is considering a proposed rule that might ban the application of pre-dispute arbitration clauses to class litigation in court. This would apply to most consumer financial products and services that the CFPB oversees, including credit cards, checking and deposit accounts, prepaid cards, money transfer services, certain auto loans, auto title loans