The CFTC announced that Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen and leaders of the Alberta Securities Commission ("ASC"), the British Columbia Securities Commission ("BCSC"), the Ontario Securities Commission ("OSC"), and the AutoritÉ des marchÉs financiers ("AMF") (collectively, "Canadian Authorities") entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") regarding cooperation and the exchange of information in the supervision and oversight of regulated entities that operate on a cross-border basis in both the United States and Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario or QuÉbec. According to the CFTC, the MOU

The CFTC will hold a public roundtable on April 3, 2014, to discuss issues concerning end users and the Dodd-Frank Act. The roundtable will consist of three panels discussing: the obligations of end users under CFTC Rule 1.35 ("Records of Commodity, Interest and Related Cash or Forward Transactions") concerning recordkeeping for commodity interest and related cash or forward transactions; the appropriate regulatory treatment of forward contracts with embedded volumetric optionality; and the appropriate regulatory treatment for purposes of the $25 million (special entity) de minimis threshold

The CFTC announced the filing and settling of charges against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC ("MSSB"), a registered futures commission merchant ("FCM"), for violating CFTC rules governing secured funds of foreign futures and option customers, commingling customer and firm funds, failing to prepare accurate daily computations of its segregated and secured funds, failing to properly title account statements for four customer segregated accounts, and failing to diligently supervise its employees' handling of matters related to its business as a CFTC registrant. According to the Order, none of

The CFTC Division of Clearing and Risk ("DCR") and the Division of Market Oversight ("DMO") issued two no-action letters extending relief for LCH.Clearnet Limited ("LCH"), a registered derivatives clearing organization ("DCO"), and Nodal Exchange LLC ("Nodal"), a designated contract market ("DCM"). CFTC Letter 14-38 provides an extension of no-action relief issued to LCH in CFTC Letter 13-52, which states that DCR would not recommend enforcement action against (i) LCH for clearing certain swaps executed on, or subject to the rules of, DCMs or swap execution facilities ("SEFs"), or (ii)

The SEC published in the Federal Register its proposed rules that would enhance the oversight of clearing agencies that are deemed to be systemically important by the Financial Stability Oversight Council ("FSOC") or that are involved in complex transactions, such as security-based swaps ("covered clearing agencies"). The covered clearing agencies would be subject to new and "more robust" requirements regarding their financial risk management, operations, governance and disclosures to market participants and the public. The proposal also would establish procedures for the SEC to use to apply