FINRA filed with the SEC a proposed rule change to amend NASD Rule 1032(f) ("Limited Representative - Equity Trader") to replace the Equity Trader registration category and qualification Series 55 examination with a Securities Trader registration category and qualification Series 57 examination. Additionally, the proposed rule change amends NASD Rule 1022(a) ("General Securities Principal") to establish a Securities Trader Principal registration category. The proposed rule change also makes technical conforming changes to Form U4. See: Text of Proposed Rule Change; FINRA Filing.

FINRA filed with the SEC a proposed rule change to amend FINRA Rule 7470 to extend for four years FINRA's ability to exempt certain members from the recording and reporting requirements of the Order Audit Trail System ("OATS") Rules for manual orders received by the member. See: Text of Proposed Rule Change; FINRA Filing.

The MSRB issued a regulatory notice requesting comment on a proposal to amend MSRB Rule A-3 ("Membership on the Board"), which would modify the application of the standard of independence for the one public member of its Board of Directors designated to be representative of institutional or retail investors in municipal securities. The proposal modifies only the standard of independence that applies to applicants for the investor representative position on the Board to allow the Board to undertake additional analysis to ensure that applicants for the investor representative role do not have

SIFMA submitted a comment letter to the SEC opposing the MSRB's rule proposal regarding the selection of examination questions and content outline for the Municipal Advisory Representative Qualification Examination (the "Series 50 Examination"). SIFMA joined ICI in opposing the requirement that individuals who advise solely on municipal fund securities, including advising a state on 529 college savings plans, must take a Series 50 Examination. SIFMA asserted that the Series 50 Examination is designed to test competencies that are unrelated to municipal fund securities advice. According to

SIFMA released a statement in response to Senator Richard Burr's (R-NC) offering of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act ("CISA") as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA"). SIFMA commended Senator Burr for introducing the CISA as an amendment to the NDAA, and strongly encouraged the Senate to adopt the amendment. According to SIFMA, information sharing legislation, such as that put forward by Senator Burr, "will empower businesses and government agencies with the best information to protect consumers and stay ahead of the rapidly evolving and increasingly