FINRA released its Quarterly Disciplinary Review Podcast, which reviews specific FINRA rule violations by registered representatives. FINRA discusses cases in which disciplinary actions were initiated as a result of specific kinds of misconduct, such as : borrowing from customers and engaging in unapproved outside business activities; failing to respond to FINRA requests for information; making unsuitable recommendations and improperly permitting options transactions to be executed; falsifying a letter and affixing a false signature; mismarking order tickets as "unsolicited"; and executing

The CFTC approved rule amendments and an interpretive notice filed by the NFA concerning enhanced protections afforded to the retail customers of NFA forex dealer members ("FDMs"). The approved amendments include requirements that: (i) impose additional capital requirements on FDMs; (ii) FDMs collect security deposits for off-exchange foreign currency transactions from eligible contract participant counterparties and retail counterparties; (iii) FDMs adopt and implement rigorous risk management programs; and (iv) FDMs provide additional market disclosures and firm-specific information on Web

SEC Commissioner Aguilar urged the SEC to reform its waiver review protocols to provide the SEC and the public greater insight into the entire process. In a public statement, Commissioner Aguilar discussed the ways in which the SEC should strengthen its protocols for handling waiver requests and providing enhanced transparency and clarity for its waiver process. He highlighted two basic reforms that he stated he believes could be implemented easily: First, the SEC could consider implementing procedures that would give it a more holistic view of the waiver process. For instance, he suggested

In order to "minimize information leakage," SIFMA urged FINRA to modify its proposed timeframe for aggregation and publication of over-the-counter ("OTC") volume information. In addition, SIFMA repeated its call for "FINRA to sunset its current requirement that alternative trading systems ("ATS") make weekly volume reports to FINRA under Rule 4552." SIFMA recommended that over-the-counter equity "volume information pertaining to a market participant's trading activity in specific securities be aggregated on a monthly rather than weekly basis, and made available to the public and industry

FINRA published a regulatory notice (15-30) announcing the adoption of new FINRA Rule 2241 ("Research Analysts and Research Reports"). The rule, which consolidates (and adds to) NASD Rule 2711 and NYSE Rule 472, addresses conflicts of interest relating to the publication and distribution of equity research reports. FINRA also published a regulatory notice (15-31) announcing the adoption of FINRA Rule 2242 ("Debt Research Analysts and Debt Research Reports"), which addresses conflicts of interest relating to the publication and distribution of debt research reports. The regulatory notices