SIFMA has filed two comment letters to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC"), the SEC, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB"), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"), the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA"), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") in response to the re-proposed rulemaking on credit risk retention. One letter was filed jointly with the American Bankers Association ("ABA"), the ABA Securities Association, and The Financial Services Roundtable ("FSR"), and the other letter presents the views of

The SEC announced an award of over $150,000 to a whistleblower whose tips helped the SEC stop a scheme which was defrauding investors. No further details as to the scheme were provided. The order stated that the award to the whistleblower represented 30 percent of the money collected by the SEC in the successful enforcement action. This is the sixth whistleblower to be rewarded through the SEC's whistleblower program. See: SEC Press Release; SEC Order Determining Whistleblower Award Claim. Related news: SEC Enforcement Advisor: SEC Announces Third Whistleblower Award (with C&F Memo) (with

The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing entitled, "Housing Finance Reform: Essentials of a Functioning Housing Finance System for Consumers." The hearing focused on the future of housing reform and, in particular, Senate Bill 1217 (" S. 1217 "), entitled, "Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013," which was introduced by Senators Corker (R-TN) and Warner (D-VA). The legislation is intended to strengthen the United States' housing financing system by replacing government-sponsored enterprises ("GSEs") Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a privately capitalized system that

The Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing regarding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ("TTIP") entitled, "The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Achieving the Potential." The following witnesses testified: Michael L. Ducker, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, FedEx (written testimony) Ryan McCormick, President, Montana Grain Growers Association (written testimony) Dave Ricks, Senior Vice President, Eli Lilly and Company, and President, Lilly Bio-Medicines (written testimony) William Roenigk, Senior Vice President, National Chicken Council

In his presentation at the AICPA/SIFMA FMS National Conference on the Securities Industry 2013, SEC Deputy Chief Accountant Brian T. Croteau focused on (i) broker-dealer rulemaking (background/timeline, existing SEC annual reporting requirements and final amendments to SEC annual reporting requirements) and (ii) the applicability of auditor independence rules to broker-dealer audits. See: SEC Slide Presentation (PDF).