SIFMA sent a letter to the operating committee for the Joint Self-Regulatory Organization Plan Governing the Collection, Consolidation and Dissemination of Quotation and Transaction Information for Nasdaq-Listed Securities Traded on Exchanges on an Unlisted Trading Privilege Basis ("Nasdaq-UTP Plan") criticizing the process of selecting a replacement for Nasdaq as the Securities Information Processor ("SIP") operator. SIFMA explained that SIPs are critical industry facilities, and reminded the operating committee that SIFMA has called repeatedly for a change in the governance of all National

SIFMA submitted a comment letter to the SEC requesting further relief from the recently imposed requirement under the Financial Responsibility Rules that a broker-dealer obtain prior written consent from a customer before placing customer funds into a Sweep Program. Since the current relief from the requirement is scheduled to expire on March 3, 2015, SIFMA requested that SEC staff reissue the current no-action letter without a sunset date, explaining that the current relief generally works well within the context of member firms' existing system and procedures. The current relief, according

The SEC order approving a FINRA-proposed rule change, as modified by partial Amendment No. 1, to broaden arbitrators' authority to make referrals during arbitration proceedings was published in the Federal Register. Originally, the proposed rule change was filed on July 12, 2010. Subsequently, it was amended, withdrawn and re-proposed on January 29, 2014. The rule change amends FINRA Rule 12104 of the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes and Rule 13104 of the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Industry Disputes to broaden arbitrators' authority to make mid-case referrals if

According to an article dated October 14 in The Bond Buyer, MSRB General Counsel Gary Goldsholle will leave the MSRB after serving for over two years. See: Bond Buyer Article titled " Goldsholle to Leave MSRB."

MFA submitted a request to the CFTC for no-action relief for the three categories of package transactions described in Letter 14-62 for which relief from the CFTC's trade execution requirement on swap execution facilities ("SEFs") expires on November 15, 2014 ("Package Transactions"). Specifically, MFA requested no-action relief that would permit each swap component of a Package Transaction that has been "made available to trade" and is subject to the trade execution requirement, to be executed off-SEF, albeit subject to the rules of an SEF. MFA seeks time-limited no-action relief from the