The National Futures Association ("NFA") filed three separate proposed amendments with the CFTC in regard to: (i) NFA Financial Requirements Section 8 ("Additional Information Requests"), (ii) NFA Registration Rule 201 ("Registration Requirements and Procedures") and Rule 203 ("Registration Fees"), and (iii) NFA's Interpretive Notice entitled "Compliance Rule 2-30(b): Risk Disclosure Statement for Security Futures Contracts." The amendments to Financial Requirements Section 8 add a substantially open-ended requirement that each registered FCM and forex dealer member for which NFA is the DSRO

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") issued a final rule to align certain of its capital rules with the Basel III capital framework, which was adopted by the FRB earlier this year. The changes to the rule reflect modifications by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development regarding country risk classifications. The final rule also clarifies criteria for determining whether underlying assets are delinquent for certain traded securitization positions. Additionally, it clarifies disclosure deadlines, and modifies the definition of a covered position. FRB

SEC Commissioner Gallagher issued a statement to Polish securities regulators regarding drafting and implementing the country's new securities laws. Commissioner Gallagher briefly mentioned topics that are important to all securities regulators. He mentioned that capital markets must remain risk-taking markets, stating that eliminating risk eliminates opportunity, which can quash individual initiative and economic dynamism. Furthermore, Gallagher emphasized that regulators must strike a balance between protecting investors and maintaining efficient markets. He noted that the rules regulators

MFA submitted a supplemental comment letter to the CFTC regarding various SEF-amended Made-Available-to-Trade (MAT) submissions. In the comment letter, MFA stated it supports the revisions made by Javelin SEF and TW SEF in their amended MAT determinations. MFA stated that the amended determinations which focus on spot-starting Benchmark Swaps are closely aligned to MFA's phase-in approach which it recommended in a previous comment letter. MFA explained that a phase-in approach strikes the appropriate balance by "bringing the benefits of SEF trading to the most liquid products" while ensuring

Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, recently released an International Tax Reform discussion draft prepared by the staff of the Finance Committee that contains a proposal to repeal the portfolio interest exemption for interest on debt issued by U.S. corporations. Originally enacted in 1984, the portfolio interest exemption eliminates a potential 30% withholding tax on interest paid to non-U.S. holders of debt issued by U.S. companies, thus encouraging investment by such persons in the United States. The exemption generally benefits residents and entities in