The SEC held an open meeting to review and approve the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB") 2014 budget and accounting support fee. Commissioners Aguilar, Gallagher and Stein issued statements commending the PCAOB and stating their support for the 2014 budget and accounting support fee.

IOSCO published a Staff Working Paper titled Crowd-Funding: An Infant Industry Growing Fast, which provides a global overview of the crowd-funding industry, along with a mapping exercise of the global regulatory landscape. The purpose of the report is to identify investor protection issues and to determine whether crowd-funding poses a systemic risk to the global financial sector. The report analyzes financial return crowd-funding ("FR crowd-funding"), which refers to peer-to-peer lending and equity crowd-funding. According to the report, the main challenge facing regulators and governments is

FINRA announced that it signed an agreement with BATS Global Markets, Inc. ("BATS") to provide cross-market surveillance services to BATS' four stock exchanges - BZX, BYX, EDGX and EDGA - along with certain other regulatory services. According to the press release, this will increase the percentage of the market that FINRA surveils from 90% to 99%. Effective immediately, FINRA will also perform disciplinary and examination services on behalf of BATS. It is expected that BATS will be included in FINRA's cross-market surveillance program during the first quarter of 2015. Lofchie Comment: The

Before an audience at the National Association of College and University Business Officers, FINRA CEO and Chairman Richard Ketchum delivered a speech on how to maintain the integrity of equities markets through technological developments. Ketchum explained that, because FINRA monitors 90 percent of all trading in U.S.-listed equities markets, it is important for the agency to implement programs to minimize the impact of technological failure and reduce potential trading abuses. Ketchum stated that FINRA has "implemented a safety net" by putting in place multiple programs to prevent market

The CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued a notice to provide market participants with additional guidance regarding procedures for submitting notices and reports relating to the holding of customer assets. The notice also provides guidance for futures commission merchants ("FCMs") to assist them with compliance obligations. The regulations became effective on January 13, 2014, with several of the regulations having deferred compliance dates. S ee: CFTC Guidance. See generally: CFTC Rule Calendar (available to subscribers only). Related news: NFA Notice I-13