SIFMA submitted a comment letter to the IRS about its final and temporary regulations relating to broker reporting on bond and acquisition premiums, original issue discounts ("OID") on tax-exempt bonds, and covered Section 1256 options. SIFMA welcomed the new temporary regulations, which are effective for debt instruments acquired on or after January 1, 2015, that require brokers to report market discount to their customers with the assumption that the customers have elected to accrue market discount based on a constant yield basis. See Temporary Treasury regulations Section 1.6045-1T(n)(11)(i

The SEC charged a mutual fund adviser, its principal and three mutual fund board members with failing to satisfy their statutory obligations regarding the evaluation and approval of mutual fund advisory contracts. According to the SEC, Commonwealth Capital Management acted as the investment adviser to various mutual funds within World Funds Trust ("WFT") and World Funds Inc. and was part of a turnkey mutual fund platform that provided various services to small and mid-sized mutual funds. An SEC investigation found that as part of the "15(c) process," the WFT's board of trustees requested that

ISDA announced that it launched the Implementation Monitor of the European Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive ("BRRD"), which is the European Union's implementation of the Financial Stability Board's Key Attributes on Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions. According to ISDA, the BRRD creates a "minimum harmonization regime for resolution banks and investment firms in the EU," and currently is being implemented in all EU member states. To keep track of the status of the implementation, ISDA launched the BRRD Implementation Monitor, which focuses primarily on the

The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing titled "Restricting Access to Financial Advice: Evaluating the Costs and Consequences for Working Families and Retirees." The hearing examined the proposal by the Department of Labor ("DOL") to expand the definition of "fiduciary," and discussed how the proposed rule would impact workers, small businesses and retirees. The following witnesses testified: Panel 1: The Honorable Thomas E. Perez, Secretary of the Department of Labor (written testimony) Panel 2: Mr. Jack Haley, Executive VP

IOSCO published a report titled "Credible Deterrence in the Enforcement of Securities Regulation." The report outlines key enforcement factors that may deter misconduct in the international securities and investment markets. The report, which was produced by the IOSCO Committee on Enforcement and the Exchange of Information, reflects the collective experience and expertise of IOSCO's members. The seven key elements for credible deterrence outlined in the report are as follows: legal certainty: consequences for misconduct must be certain and predictable; detecting misconduct: regulators must be