The Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") issued an extension of two previous no-action letters to the Futures Industry Association ("FIA"), its member futures commission merchants ("FCMs") and similarly situated FCMs. The letter extends the compliance date of the relief provided in previous no-action letters (14-02 and 14-45) to October 31, 2014 for certain conditions associated with the receipt of customer funds by an FCM, pursuant to CFTC Rule 1.20 ("Futures Customer Funds to Be Segregated and Separately Accounted for"), Rule

The CFTC Division of Clearing and Risk ("DCR") issued a time-limited no-action letter to Korea Exchange, Inc. ("KRX") temporarily excusing it from registering as a derivatives clearing organization ("DCO") pursuant to CEA Section 5b(a) ("Derivatives Clearing Organizations"). In the letter, the CFTC states that KRX seeks to clear Korean Won-dominated interest rate swaps ("KRW IRS") and other swaps covered by Korea's Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act for the proprietary trades of KRX's clearing members that are U.S. persons. The CFTC reasons that it recently granted no-action

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