A group of industry trade associations led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed an amicus curiae brief that asks the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether an agency must engage in Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") advance notice and public comment rulemaking to significantly alter an "interpretive" rule that interprets an agency regulation. The matter concerns an action by the U.S. Department of Labor, which revised the Bush Administration's guidance to suggest that the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime provisions did not apply to mortgage brokers. The Mortgage Bankers Association ("MBA

The CFTC announced that, on October 21, 2014, Chair Tim Massad and Chair of the Manitoba Securities Commission ("MSC") Donald Murray signed a Counterpart to the Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU"), signed on March 25, 2014, regarding cooperation and the exchange of information in the oversight of regulated entities that operate in the United States and Canadian provinces. The MOU, which originally was signed by four other Canadian authorities, included a provision for additional Canadian authorities to become parties to the MOU. The CFTC and the MSC have executed the Counterpart in order for

The SEC announced that Director of the Office of Municipal Securities John J. Cross III will leave the agency in November. Mr. Cross is expected to rejoin the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department in November. See: Press Release.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") voted to adopt the final Credit Risk Retention Rule. The Credit Risk Retention Rule implements Section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires the securitizers of asset-backed securities to retain "not less than five percent" of the credit risk of assets collateralizing the securitization. Additionally, Section 941 exempts qualified residential mortgages ("QRMs") from risk retention and aligns that definition of "QRM" with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's definition of

The SEC announced that Marc Wyatt has been named Deputy Director of the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. See: SEC Press Release.