U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) of the Senate Finance Committee submitted a letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White urging the SEC Division of Trading and Markets staff to "act promptly" with respect to the initial margin regime currently in place for cleared Credit Default Swaps ("CDS") portfolios. According to the letter, when the SEC approved an initial margin regime for broker-dealers to permit the portfolio margining of swaps under CFTC jurisdiction and securities-based swaps under SEC jurisdiction by broker-dealers two years ago, it did not address requirements for other market participants

The House Financial Services Committee announced that it will hold a full committee hearing on February 5, 2014, to examine the impact of the Volcker Rule. The following witnesses are scheduled to appear: Daniel Tarullo, Governor, Federal Reserve Board; Mary Jo White, Chair, Securities and Exchange Commission; Thomas Curry, Comptroller of the Currency, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; Martin Gruenberg, Chair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and Mark Wetjen, Acting Chair, Commodity Futures Trading Commission. See : Committee Memorandum. Related news: House Committee on

The SEC approved FINRA's proposed rule change to update the rules governing the Alternative Display Facility ("ADF") so that the existing rules will reflect regulatory requirements that have been put into place since the last revision of the ADF rules. FINRA originally filed the proposed rule with the SEC on December 9, 2013. The proposed rule also conforms the ADF trade reporting rules to current FINRA rules which relate to trade reporting to the FINRA Trade Reporting Facilities ("TRFs"). S ee: SEC Approval of Proposed Rule. Related news: SEC Issues Order Approving FINRA-Proposed Rule

The SEC announced charges against two Wall Street traders involved in a fraudulent "parking" scheme in which one trader temporarily placed securities in the other's trading book to avoid financial penalties. The SEC alleged that Thomas Gonnella solicited the assistance of Ryan King to evade a policy at his firm that financially penalized a trader who held securities for an extended period. Gonnella arranged for King, who worked at a different firm, to purchase several securities with the understanding that Gonnella would repurchase them at a profit for King's firm. The SEC alleges that

The MSRB held its quarterly meeting from January 29 through January 31, at which it discussed how to (i) improve the efficiency of the municipal securities market and (ii) develop a regulatory framework for municipal advisors. At the meeting, the MSRB agreed to seek public comment on a proposed rule that would establish an explicit "best-execution" standard for transactions in the municipal market. The proposed rule would increase municipal securities dealers' obligations when they bought and sold on behalf of retail investors. According to the MSRB release, the proposed best-execution rule