SIFMA filed an amicus brief with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in opposition to an appeal challenging a 2013 federal district court order dismissing all of the antitrust claims from multidistrict litigation over LIBOR manipulation. The lawsuit follows in the wake of global enforcement actions accusing a number of banks of rigging submissions for the determination of LIBOR. SIFMA's brief urges the Court not to apply antitrust principles to the LIBOR benchmark setting process. According to SIFMA, that process is not "set through competition," but instead through a voluntary, cooperative

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing titled "The Dodd-Frank Act Five Years Later: Are We More Prosperous?" The hearing examined the Dodd-Frank Act's implementation, operation and general legislative impact on economic prosperity over the past five years. The following witnesses testified: The Honorable Phil Gramm, Senior Partner of U.S. Policy Metrics and former U.S. Senator The Honorable R. Bradley Miller, Of Counsel to Grais Ellsworth LLP and former member of Congress Mr. Peter J. Wallison, Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") and the FDIC provided feedback to three non-bank financial companies regarding their initial resolution plan filings. The plans were filed pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act's requirement that "systemically important" non-bank financial companies submit resolution plans. The agencies urged the three non-bank financial companies to engage in more detailed analyses of obstacles to resolvability. See: FRB and FDIC: Joint Press Release.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") and the FDIC provided guidance to 119 firms that will be filing updated resolution plans by the end of December 2015. The periodic submission of resolution plans from systemically important bank holding companies is a requirement of Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Based on a review of the plans that were submitted last year, the FRB and the FDIC tailored the requirements for the submissions. The new resolution plans are due on or before December 31, 2015. See: FRB Press Release. R elated news: Federal

FINRA published an Election Notice in which it announced that it would not nominate any individuals to fill a Small Firm vacancy on its National Adjudicatory Council ("NAC"). Instead, FINRA invited eligible individuals to petition for their names to be included on the election ballot by following the procedures outlined in the notice. Petitions for candidacy must be submitted by September 11, 2015. See: FINRA NAC Election Notice.