The SEC granted relief to AEGON N.V. ("AEGON") and its subsidiary, Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. ("TFA"), from being considered an "ineligible issuer" under Securities Act Rule 405(1)(vi) ("Definitions of Terms"). AEGON requested the relief due to an April 3, 2014 SEC Order, which requires TFA to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations, and any future violations of Investment Advisers Act Sections 206(2), 206(4) ("Prohibited Transactions by Investment Advisers") and 207 ("Material Misstatements") and Rule 206(4)-7 ("Compliance Procedures and Practices"). See: SEC

The SEC issued an order directing FINRA, BATS Exchange, BATS Y-Exchange, the Chicago Stock Exchange, EDGA Exchange, EDGX Exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., Nasdaq OMX BX, Nasdaq OMX Phlx, the National Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Arca, and NYSE MKT (collectively referred to as the "Exchanges") to jointly develop and file a national market system plan to implement a pilot program ("Pilot Program"). The Pilot Program would, among other things, widen the quoting and trading increments for certain small cap stocks, with one test group incorporating a "trade-at"

The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2014-38 ("Revenue Procedure") to modify the model Foreign Financial Agreement ("FFI Agreement") which Foreign Financial Institutions ("FFIs") (other than those located in Model 1 Intergovernmental Agreement ("IGA") countries) must enter into with the IRS in order to be "participating FFIs." According to the IRS, most of the changes to the FFI Agreement were made to reflect the Temporary Regulations issued under FATCA and the Temporary Regulations that coordinate the FATCA regulations with the existing income tax withholding and reporting regulations. In

The IRS released its instructions to Form W-8BEN-E, a document that virtually every non-U.S. entity must complete in order to certify status under FATCA. The final version of the W-8BEN-E was issued in March 2014, albeit without instructions. This new eight-page form, which replaces the pre-FATCA one-page W-8BEN, requires a non-U.S. entity to declare its FATCA status by checking one of 31 boxes, many of which require further certifications by the non-U.S. entity. The new Form W-8BEN-E also is required to be used by non-U.S. entities to claim benefits under a tax treaty and otherwise to certify

In separate hearings, the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee met to review the 2014 Annual Report to Congress of the Financial Stability Oversight Council ("FSOC"). At both hearings, Secretary of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew was the sole witness. Click here for a summary of the House Financial Services Committee hearing, and click here for a summary of the Senate Banking Committee hearing, both prepared by Delta Strategy Group. See: House Financial Services Committee Memorandum of Hearing; Archived Webcast of the Hearing; FSOC 2014 Annual Report. See also