FINRA's proposed rule change to adopt Rule 3210 (Accounts at Other Broker-Dealers and Financial Institutions) into the consolidated FINRA rulebook was published in the Federal Register. FINRA's proposals to delete NASD Rule 3050 (Transactions for or by Associated Persons), delete incorporated NYSE Rules 407 (Transactions - Employees of Members, Member Organizations and the Exchange) and 407A (Disclosure of All Member Accounts) and to delete related Incorporated NYSE Rule Interpretations 407/01 and 407/02 (Transactions - Employees of Member Organizations and the Exchange) from the consolidated

The SEC announced its settlement of charges against a St. Louis-based brokerage firm and the former head of its municipal underwriting desk. The firm and its head were penalized for overcharging customers for new municipal bonds, and for separate misconduct related to supervisory failures in the firm's review of certain secondary market municipal bond trades. The SEC found that instead of offering bonds to customers at the initial offering price, the brokerage firm took new bonds into its own inventory and offered them to customers improperly at higher prices. In other instances, the SEC found

Responding to Congresswoman Ann Wagner, who had urged that the Department of Labor to "re-propose [the Conflict of Interest] rule to ensure that it achieves its stated goal of protecting Americans saving for retirement," U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said he would push ahead with the current rulemaking. Lofchie Comment: The Secretary's letter reflects his determination to move forward with the rulemaking rather than repropose the rule. This determination is in apparent contravention of a majority in Congress (judging from the number of Congress members who have written to the

The SEC charged a senior bank executive for "trading based on material, nonpublic information about a proposed acquisition for which the bank was acting as an advisor and underwriter." See: SEC Litigation Release.

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight, the Division of Clearing and Risk, and the Division of Market Oversight (collectively, the "Divisions") extended no-action relief to non-U.S. swap dealers from certain transaction-level requirements under the Commodity Exchange Act. The CFTC stated that in order to avoid market disruptions for their non-U.S. counterparties, non-U.S. swap dealers need sufficient time-limited relief to organize their internal policies and procedures to comply with the transaction-level requirements. Prior to September 30, 2016, or the effective date of