Mercatus Scholar Hester Peirce discussed the importance of living wills in her commentary titled, "Living Wills' for Banks Are Pointless without Market Discipline." Ms. Peirce argues that, although living wills make sense in theory, until markets are forced to live by them, "there is little incentive to get them right." The recent rejection of 11 living wills by regulators sent banks "back to the drawing board" because of the banks' failure to estimate or understand their customers' behavior and to make or identify changes in plans for orderly resolutions. Ms. Peirce stated that the regulators

Mercatus Center Technology Policy Program Director Jerry Brito and research fellow Eli Dourado ("Mercatus scholars") submitted comments to the New York Department of Financial Services ("NY DFS") regarding its recently proposed BitLicense regulatory framework for virtual currency firms. The goal of the framework, as stated by Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky, is "to strike an appropriate balance that helps protect consumers and root out illegal activity - without stifling beneficial innovation." The Mercatus scholars argue that the proposed framework misses its mark. According to the Mercatus

FINRA issued an investor alert titled "Viral Disease Stock Scams: Don't Let Them Infect Your Portfolio." Specifically, the alert warns investors to be wary of promotions touting stocks in companies that claim to provide products that protect against the spread of viruses or other harmful diseases. FINRA is aware of several potential investment scams involving companies that claim to be involved in the development of products that will prevent the spread of viral diseases. The alert provided a list of tips to avoid potential stock scams, which include the following: be skeptical of press

FINRA announced the results of voting that took place at its 2014 Annual Meeting on August 14, 2014, where firms elected two Governors - of small and large firms, respectively - and FINRA appointed two new public Governors who will serve on FINRA's Board of Governors. Governors are appointed or elected to three-year terms, and may not serve more than two consecutive terms. Elected Governors include: Mark Cresap, President and Owner of Cresap, Inc., as Small-Firm Governor; and Gregory J. Fleming, President of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and Investment Management, as Large-Firm Governor

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley delivered opening remarks at the Workshop on the Risks of Wholesale Funding. The Workshop was held in New York on August 13, 2014 and was sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Mr. Dudley's remarks focused on the role of wholesale financing (such as money-market mutual funds and tri-party repo) in the financial crisis. As Mr. Dudley explained, in the years preceding the crisis, market participants came to rely on short-term funding to finance longer-term assets, creating maturity