SIFMA submitted a response to the MSRB's request for comment on potential enhancements to the post-trade municipal securities transaction data that would be disseminated from a new central transparency platform ("CTP"). SIFMA stated that, while it was pleased with the "methodical manner" in which the MSRB proceeded to obtain input regarding the development of the CTP, it was concerned about the cost of certain elements of the proposal. In particular, SIFMA voiced concerns about the proposed addition of a conditional trading commitment indicator, as well as changes related to dealer

In a letter to U.S. Treasury Department ("Treasury") Secretary Jacob Lew, SIFMA urged him to use Treasury's leadership to begin discussions on a regulatory framework for financial services, and affirmed its support for a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ("TTIP"). Lofchie Comment: With the change in leadership at the CFTC, Treasury should reexamine its position on this issue and support regulatory cooperation. It is likely to prove more productive for the U.S. economy than attempts to impose regulatory hegemony. See : SIFMA Comment Letter. Related news : SIFMA

The SEC charged Bank of America Corporation with violating internal controls and recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws after it assumed a large portfolio of structured notes and other financial instruments as part of its acquisition of Merrill Lynch. The SEC order explained that, at the time of its Merrill Lynch acquisition, Bank of America was required – for purposes of calculating and reporting its regulatory capital – to realize the losses on inherited notes as they matured after it redeemed the notes at par, and to deduct the realized losses as they occurred. However, the

The SEC announced insider trading charges against two former investment bank employees involved in an alleged scheme to profit by buying or short-selling a stock prior to the publication of research analyst reports containing a ratings change. The SEC's Enforcement Division alleges that a research analyst at an investment firm tipped a trader at the firm in advance of several market-moving ratings upgrades and downgrades that the analyst made in certain securities, enabling the trader to generate more than $117,000 in profits. See : SEC Order; SEC Press Release.

According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, banking regulators are beginning to question a strategy known as "dividend arbitrage," in which banks generate revenue by helping funds and other clients reduce taxes through a trading maneuver. Reportedly, the strategy entails a bank's temporary transfer of ownership of a client's shares to a lower-tax jurisdiction around the time that the client expects to collect a dividend on those shares. This allows bank clients to reduce taxes on the dividends. While banks and hedge funds claim that dividend arbitrage is an "attractive, legal way