The CFTC held a public meeting today to consider the pre-trade transparency module that includes the swaps block rule, the swap execution facility rule and the made available to trade rule. Opening statements were made by Chairman Gary Gensler, Commissioners Jill Sommers, Bart Chilton, Scott D. O'Malia and Mark Wetjen discussing key aspects of the rules and their impact on the swaps market. The commissioners focused on both the benefits and shortcomings which they viewed as critical to the success of the reforms. Chairman Gensler Delivers Overview of New Rules and Their Promotion of

The House of Representatives passed a bill that sets a deadline for the SEC to implement a provision of the JOBS Act. By a vote of 416-6, the House gave its approval to H.R. 701, a bill that directs the SEC to finalize rules by October 31 to implement a JOBS Act provision that helps startup businesses access capital. Specifically, H.R. 701 requires the SEC to implement Title IV of the JOBS Act by October 31, 2013. Title IV requires the SEC to adopt or amend regulations to encourage capital formation without requiring an SEC registration statement. These exemptions, referred to as "Regulation A

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, the Senate Banking Committee will meet in open session to conduct a hearing on "The Financial Stability Oversight Council Annual Report to Congress." The witness will be Jacob J. Lew, Secretary of the Treasury. Click here to learn more (links externally to Senate Banking Committee website). See also: Add to My Calendar (vCal).

The CFTC approved three final rules regarding (i) core principles and other requirements for swap execution facilities; (ii) the process for a designated contract market or swap execution facility to make a swap available to trade; and (iii) procedures to establish appropriate minimum block sizes for large notional off-facility swaps and block trades. Although the text of the Final Rules is not yet available, the summary below is based primarily on the fact sheets issued by the CFTC and the discussions at the CFTC Open Meeting. SEF Final Rules By a vote of 4-1, the CFTC approved final rules

SEC Chairman Mary Jo White delivered a testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services on behalf of the Commission regarding the recent activities of the SEC. In her testimony, which provides a fairly comprehensive description of the SEC's principal agenda items, Chairman White highlighted the work of each of the Divisions and Offices, including: Enforcement (she emphasized money collections, financial crisis cases, cases against markets and broker-dealers, insider trading, cases having a cross-border element "particularly in China", the publication of a