The SEC announced that Eun Ah Choi has been named Managing Executive of the Division of Investment Management. Ms. Choi will serve as the Division's point person on a wide range of business, operational and administrative functions, including risk and examinations, business process improvement, human capital management, strategic planning, and industry and financial analyses. See: SEC Press Release.

The CFTC has published enhanced risk management standards for systemically important derivatives clearing organizations in the Federal Register. The final rule includes increased financial resource requirements for clearing organizations that are involved with more complex risk profiles or that are systemically important in multiple jurisdictions. See: 78 FR 49663. See also: CFTC Issues Final Rules Implementing Enhanced Risk Management for Systemically Important Derivatives Clearing Organizations (August 12, 2013).

The MFA has submitted comments to the CFTC in response to the CME Group's proposed Market Regulation Advisory Notice for Exchange Rule 534 ("Wash Trades Prohibited"). The MFA letter expressed support for the clarification of the standards for prohibited wash trades, as well as for CME Globex Self-Match Prevention functionality. Lofchie Comment: The fundamental issue is that (i) two traders working independently or (ii) two electronic trading algorithms running independently, each trading in the same contract for the same trading firm, are inevitably going to trade with each other (which is to

FINRA has filed a proposed rule change to adopt financial and operational rules relating to securities loans and borrowings, and permissible uses of customers' securities. The changes to the rules would be as follows: The proposed rules would require a written agreement as to any securities loan between a FINRA member and non-member (and would create, if necessary a deemed agreement between two FINRA members); Would impose various record keeping requirements in connection with securities loans where the FINRA member is acting as agent (bearing in mind that there are already at least informal

FINRA has filed a proposed amendment to Form U4, Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer, regarding the reporting of unsatisfied judgments and liens. The proposed rule change would amend Section 4 of the Judgment/Lien DRP to add a question regarding the date on which the registered representative learned of the judgment or lien. Member firms will have to report both the date on which the judgment or lien was filed with a court, and the date on which the registered representative learned of the matter. See: Text of Proposed Rule Change; FINRA Rule Announcement.