The CFTC Division of Clearing and Risk ("DCR") issued an extension of time-limited no-action relief to Eurex Clearing AG (Eurex Clearing). In the extension of CFTC Letter 13-44, DCR states that it will not recommend enforcement against: Eurex Clearing for failing to register as a derivatives clearing organization ("DCO") under CEA Section 5b(a), or clearing members of Eurex Clearing that are U.S. persons for failure to clear certain interest rate swaps or certain credit default swaps on a broad-based index of reference entities ("Index CDS") through a registered or exempt DCO, pursuant to the

The SEC issued no-action relief to Canadian Stock Transfer Company Inc. ("CST") and its affiliate, CST Trust Company, from Exchange Act Section 15(a)(1) ("Registration and Regulation of Brokers and Dealers") if CST Trust engages in a limited business as a securities broker. The relief is subject to the same conditions set forth in an exemptive order granted to CIBC Mellon Trust Company on June 18, 2009. The requested relief was intended to allow CST to continue to operate CIBC Mellon Trust Company's former transfer agency business. CST stated that the no-action relief would help CST Stock Plan

New SRO rules and rule proposals were announced by the SEC. Click on the links below to view the SEC's notices of the rule changes for the week of March 3 - March 7: Trading NYSE: Rule Change Amending Supplementary Material .20 to NYSE Rule 103 Setting Forth Net Liquid Assets Requirements for Member Organizations that Operate as Designated Market Maker Units NYSE Arca: Rule Change Amending Its Rules in Order to Clarify the Applicability and Functionality of Certain Order Types on the Exchange NYSE MKT: Rule Change Amending Its Rules in Order to Clarify the Applicability and Functionality of

U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY) introduced a bill (H.R. 4167) to amend the Volcker Rule to exclude certain collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs") from the prohibition against a "banking entity" (essentially a bank or any affiliate of a bank) acquiring or retaining an ownership interest in a hedge fund or private equity fund. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services on March 6, 2014. See: Discussion Draft of H.R. 4167; Bill Summary and Status Report. See generally: The Cabinet's Volcker Materials (accessible to Cabinet subscribers only). Related news: Trade

FINRA released a podcast summarizing the latest FINRA notices, compliance resources, and news from February 2014. The podcast highlighted recent regulatory notices and their topics, including: 14-05, regarding the SEC-approved rule change to adopt additional financial and operational Rules 4314 ("Securities Loans and Borrowings"), 4330 ("Customer Protection - Permissible Use of Customers' Securities") and 4340 ("Callable Securities") for the consolidated FINRA Rulebook, effective May 1, 2014; 14-06, regarding updates to the embedded text of the Securities Exchange Act financial responsibility