The SEC approved amendments to FINRA Rule 6730(d)(2) to require firms to report to TRACE the factor for each transaction in an asset-backed security (ABS) (except an ABS traded To Be Announced (TBA)), in the limited instances when firms effect such transactions as agent and charge a commission. The amended rule text is set forth in Attachment A of the attached notice. Effective Date: July 22, 2013. Click hereto view regulatory notice in full (links externally to FINRA website).

The Securities Industry/Regulatory Council on Continuing Education (the Council) released the semi-annual Firm Element Advisory (FEA) (see FINRA Regulatory Notice 13-14). FINRA has made available the following online training resources: E-Learning Courses: Online training featuring assessment tests, scenarios, real-time completion tracking and certificates of completion (see www.finra.org elearning). Podcasts: Short audio recordings on specific targeted topics, which can be heard online or downloaded to a portable media player (see www.finra.org podcasts). The Council produces the FEA to

The SEC announced that Jennifer Marietta-Westberg has been named Deputy Director of its Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation ("RSFI"). The SEC created the Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation in September 2009 to help inform the agency's policymaking, rulemaking, enforcement, and examinations. Dr. Marietta-Westberg will oversee the division's policy and rulemaking support functions, particularly its economic analysis in support of SEC policy and rulemaking. Click here to view announcement in full (links externally to SEC website).

Lona Nallengara, Acting Director of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, and John Ramsay, Acting Director of the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets, testified before a House committee on the SEC's progress in implementing the JOBS Act. The Congressional request for their testimony was likely an effort to hasten the SEC rulemaking required to implement the JOBS Act. The written testimony provides a description of the major changes to the law made by the JOBS Act, and a further and more detailed description of each Title of the JOBS Act and the progress that the SEC has made in

The Asset Management Group of SIFMA ("SIFMA AMG") provided the attached comments to the CFTC requesting no-action relief with regard to the clearing requirement for the iTraxx Europe, iTraxx Crossover and iTraxx HiVol credit default swap indices (collectively, "iTraxx indices"). Under the CFTC clearing determination, swaps referencing iTraxx indices would be required to be cleared 60 days after they are available on a clearinghouse. The group and its members expect to have to clear swaps referencing the iTraxx indices following their having been made available by the Chicago Mercantile