The SEC has announced that Kevin W. Goodman will be the new national associate director of the broker-dealer examination program in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE"). Mr. Goodman has been the acting national associate director of the program since May. See: SEC Press Release.

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a hearing regarding the nomination of Janet Yellen as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB"). The hearing focused on Yellen's plan for the FRB if she is confirmed by the Senate. C lick here for a summary of the hearing by Delta Strategy Group.

The U.S. Department of Treasury announced that the United States signed an intergovernmental agreement ("IGA") with France to implement FATCA. According to the U.S. Treasury, France was among the first countries to "champion" the underlying goals of FATCA. To date, ten FATCA IGAs have been signed. See: France and U.S. IGA; U.S. Treasury Press Release. See also: Cadwalader's Guide to FATCA by Daniel Mulcahy, Mark Howe and Steven Lofchie; FATCA IGA Archive.

The Structured Finance Industry Group has published the latest issue of its SFIG Newsletter, which covers major topics that include developing scenarios for future capital planning and stress-testing exercises, and expected developments as to the Volcker Rule. Click here to view the SFIC Newsletter (external link).

FINRA has announced that Mike Rufino will become Head of Member Regulation - Sales Practice - and Bill Wollman will become Head of Member Regulation - Risk Oversight and Operational Regulation ("ROOR"). Rufino and Wollman will report to Susan Axelrod, FINRA Executive Vice President of Regulatory Operations. Lofchie Comment: Congratulations to Messrs. Rufino and Wollman, both dedicated financial regulators. See: FINRA News Release.