The MSRB held its quarterly meeting from April 30, 2014 through May 2, 2014, at which it addressed several initiatives to improve the structure, efficiency and transparency of the municipal securities market. Specifically, the MSRB agreed to submit to the SEC a plan to implement a "best-execution" standard for transactions in the municipal market. According to the press release, the rule would establish for the first time an explicit obligation for dealers to use "reasonable diligence" when handling and executing municipal security trades for retail investors to achieve a price that is as

FINRA issued an election notice indicating that the annual meeting of FINRA firms to elect one Small Firm Governor and one Large Firm Governor to the FINRA Board of Governors will take place on August 6, 2014. Petitions for candidacy are due on June 20, 2014. See: FINRA Election Notice.

FINRA announced fines against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC ("Morgan Stanley") for supervisory failures related to the solicitation of retail customers to invest in IPOs. According to the FINRA Action, from February 16, 2012, to May 1, 2013, Morgan Stanley sold shares to retail customers in 83 IPOs without having adequate procedures and training to ensure that its sales staff distinguished between "indications of interest" (which must be confirmed after the registration statement becomes effective) and "conditional offers" in its solicitations of potential investors. FINRA found that Morgan

The CFTC announced the establishment of the Market Risk Advisory Committee ("MRAC"). The MRAC's duties include: advising the CFTC on issues involving clearinghouses, exchanges, intermediaries, market-makers and end users regarding systemic issues that threaten the stability of the derivatives markets and other financial markets; identifying and analyzing the implications of an evolving market structure and the movement of risk across clearinghouses, intermediaries, market-makers and end users; monitoring developments in the structure of the derivatives markets for their effect on systemic

At the American Enterprise Institute Lunch Conference, Representative Scott Garrett (R-NJ) delivered the keynote speech, in which he discussed issues and concerns surrounding the Financial Stability Oversight Council ("FSOC") and its authority to designate systemically important financial institutions ("SIFIs"). According to Representative Garrett, the rationale behind the creation of the FSOC sounded good in theory; however, the agency has many problems. While the FSOC's functional authority appears to be limited to designating nearly any nonbank financial company, activity or practice as a