SIFMA submitted comments to the SEC regarding FINRA's proposed rule change to adopt Rule 2243, Disclosure and Reporting Obligations Related to Recruitment Practices (the "Proposal"). In the letter, SIFMA expressed support for the underlying goal of the Proposal: to foster investor protection by requiring broker-dealers to disclose (in concise, plain English) certain potential conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with a registered representative's receipt of recruiting-related bonus payments. Notwithstanding the general support for the concept, SIFMA contended that various

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("SIFMA"), the American Bankers Association ("ABA"), the Financial Services Forum ("FSF"), the Financial Services Roundtable ("FSR") and the Institute of International Bankers ("IIB") (collectively referred to as the "Associations") submitted a comment letter to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") on complementary activities, merchant banking activities and other activities of financial holding companies ("FHCs") related to physical commodities. In the letter, the Associations stated that the public benefits of

FINRA filed with the SEC a proposed rule change to amend Rule 11892 ("Clearly Erroneous Transactions in Exchange-Listed Securities") to add new provisions that address multi-day clearly erroneous events and transactions occurring during trading halts, and make non-substantive clarifications to the rule. See : Text of Proposed Rule Change.

The United States Government Accountability Office ("GAO") released a report assessing the SEC's information security controls as part of its audit of the SEC's financial statements from fiscal years 2013 and 2012. The report noted that, while the SEC had implemented and made progress in strengthening information security controls, weaknesses limited their effectiveness in protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of a key financial system. The report noted further that the information security weaknesses existed because the SEC did not sufficiently oversee and manage the

The SEC charged a former BP employee, who was a "senior responder" for BP during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with insider trading based on confidential information as to the magnitude of the disaster. According to the SEC Complaint, BP tasked Keith A. Seilhan with coordinating BP's oil collection, containment, and cleanup operations. Within days of the spill, Seilhan received nonpublic information about the extent of the evolving disaster. Additionally, the SEC found that BP's filings with the SEC potentially underestimated the flow rate of the spill by over 50,000 barrels of oil per