The CFTC Division of Market Oversight ("DMO") issued a no-action letter extending the conditional no-action relief provided in CFTC Letter 13-76 for Yieldbroker Pty Limited ("Yieldbroker"). In the letter, DMO stated that it will not take enforcement action against Yieldbroker for failing to register as a swap execution facility ("SEF") under CEA Section 5h(a)(1) ("Swap Execution Facilities") and CFTC Rule 37.3(a)(1) ("Requirements and Procedures for Registration"). The relief is contingent upon the six conditions outlined in letter 13-76, which are as follows: Yieldbroker will not offer

The SEC announced securities fraud charges against the State of Kansas stemming from a nationwide review of bond offering documents. The review was undertaken to determine whether municipalities were properly disclosing material pension liabilities and other risks to investors. According to the SEC order, the Kansas Development Finance Authority ("KDFA") did not properly disclose the existence of "significant" unfunded liability in the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System when it issued a series of bond offerings. Additionally, the documents did not describe the effect of such an unfunded

FINRA proposed immediately effective rule amendments, which revise the content outline and selection specifications for the General Securities Principal Sales Supervisor Module ("Series 23") and the General Securities Principal ("Series 24") examination programs, that were published in the Federal Register. FINRA reported that it is making changes to the format of the content outlines of both examinations. Specifically, the revisions update the material to reflect changes to the laws, rules and regulations covered by the examinations and to incorporate the functions and associated tasks

The SEC announced that Thomas M. Piccone will head the National Exam Program in the Denver Office. In his new role, Mr. Piccone will oversee examinations of broker-dealers and transfer agents as well as investment advisers and investment companies throughout an eight-state region. See: Press Release.

SIFMA submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Treasury ("Treasury") regarding the development of a functioning private-label securities ("PLS") market for securitizations. SIFMA stated it is a "strong supporter" of the restoration of private-sector securitizations, noting that the recovery of this market is necessary for a "reinvigoration" of the housing system in the U.S. SIFMA also commented that it is time to review the housing finance system, and addressed a number of issues that need careful analysis, which included: how the regulatory framework governing mortgage lending has changed