The IRS plans to issue new proposed regulations in 2015 to deal with the tax treatment of swaps with contingent nonperiodic payment swaps. The IRS and Treasury are also expected to issue "in the very near term" final regulations under Section 871(m) of the Internal Revenue Code which requires taxes to be withheld on payments (or deemed payments) to non-U.S. persons of dividend equivalents on certain equity swaps and equity derivatives referencing U.S. stocks. The final regulations were originally targeted for issuance by the end of 2014 with an effective date of January 1, 2016, to allow

The House and Senate voted to pass the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 26), a bill that would, among other things, exclude end-users from CFTC and SEC margin requirements applicable to swaps. Specifically, the bill would amend the Commodity Exchange Act and Securities Exchange Act to exempt swaps from prudential rules governing margin requirements for swaps not cleared by a registered derivatives clearing organization. The bill calls for the amendment to be implemented through an interim final rule, bypassing the standard Administrative Procedure Act notice

The SEC named Walter E. Jospin as Regional Director of its Atlanta Office. In his new position, Mr. Jospin will oversee enforcement and examinations in a region that covers five states. See: SEC Press Release.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council ("FSOC") requested public comments on a proposal to implement the qualified financial contract ("QFC") recordkeeping requirements of Dodd-Frank. The proposed rules provide information intended to assist the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"), acting as a receiver, to: fulfill its obligations under the Dodd-Frank Act in deciding whether to transfer QFCs; assess the consequences of decisions to transfer, disaffirm or repudiate, or to allow the termination of, QFCs with one or more counterparties; and determine if any financial systemic risks

MFA submitted comments to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision ("BCBS") regarding the treatment of segregated initial margin under the supplementary leverage ratio ("SLR") set out in the BCBS document titled: " Basel III Leverage Ratio Framework and Disclosure Requirements." MFA stated that it is "very concerned" that the SLR does not account for the fact that segregated customer initial margin for centrally cleared derivatives cannot be used to leverage the customer's clearing member firm. According to MFA, customers post initial margin to their clearing firms for the benefits of