On April 29, Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) urged the Obama Administration to stay negotiations on a FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement ("IGA") with Russia until Russia ends its actions directed against Ukraine. Russia is among several nations that have not yet reached an agreement in substance with the United States over FATCA. Other economically-significant countries without FATCA agreements include China, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. Banks and other financial institutions in non-IGA countries that fail to register and enter into an FFI Agreement with the IRS face a 30%

SIFMA and the Financial Services Roundtable ("FSR") (together, the "Associations") submitted additional comments to the SEC regarding the SEC Division of Corporation Finance's Disclosure of Asset-Level Data Memorandum. The comment letter stressed that it is "absolutely necessary" for the SEC to provide issuers with an express guarantee of relief from omissions liability in connection with any disclosure mechanism that places asset-backed securities sponsors in a position in which they must limit or restrict access to asset-level data. The Associations further explained that many of the

Ukraine-Related Sanctions: The European Union announced on April 29 that it was imposing sanctions on additional Russian and Ukrainian individuals who have "taken actions undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity." Specifically, the EU added 15 individuals to its list of persons subject to travel bans and asset freezes, including high-level Russian political and military leaders, as well as pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists who have taken part in the seizure of government buildings throughout eastern Ukraine in the last few weeks. Notable additions to the EU's list of sanctioned individuals

At the 2014 Operations Conference Exhibition, SIFMA Executive Vice President Randy Snook delivered opening remarks about how to increase the resiliency of the financial system amid rapid regulatory changes. Mr. Snook stated that much of the rulemaking mandated by Dodd-Frank has presented significant operational challenges, citing the Volcker Rule and the new derivatives regime as examples of challenges that created the need for new data reporting and other operational requirements. To ensure that these new rules are efficiently monitored, Mr. Snook said, it is important that additional

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises held a hearing titled "Oversight of the SEC's Agenda, Operations, and FY 2015 Budget Request." Subcommittee Chair Scott Garrett (R-NJ) delivered opening remarks at the hearing and discussed SEC initiatives as well as the Financial Stability Oversight Council's ("FSOC") regulation of the asset management industry. Representative Garrett thanked SEC Chair Mary Jo White for directing her staff to prioritize the examination of the U.S. equity markets "long before the recent media outcry." Additionally