A New SRO rule proposal has been announced by the SEC. Click on the link to view the SEC's notice of the proposal: NASDAQ: Notice of Designation of a Longer Period for Commission Action on Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment Nos. 1 and 3 Thereto, to Establish the Market Quality Program

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) delivered the following opening statement at today's full committee markup of its oversight plan for the 113th Congress. The statement noted the following five priorities of the FSC: Conducting oversight of the financial regulators to ensure they can exercise their authority without impeding the ability of consumers and business to obtain credit; Reducing federal regulations that are unnecessary, duplicative, or overly onerous; Examining proposals to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to protect taxpayers from another costly

The SEC has announced that, on February 11, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered default judgments against Sean David Morton, who bills himself as "America's Prophet," his wife, and various corporate shell entities. In addition to ordering permanent injunctions from violating antifraud and registration statutes and rule, the defendants were ordered to disgorge, jointly and severally, a total of $11,533,382.18. Relief defendants Melissa Morton and the Prophecy Research Institute, the Mortons' nonprofit religious organization, were ordered to disgorge a

SIFMA has announced the availability of a white paper that outlines the financial industry's priorities for a U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. This paper was developed jointly by SIFMA and its European affiliate, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe ("AFME"). The joint letter covered the following issues: Commercial Presence: the letter describes the fundamental issue as equivalent "national treatment" for a financial institution operating cross-border outside its home jurisdiction; Cross-Border Business Operations: allowing services to be offered from outside

The SEC has announced that Ethiopis Tafara, Director of the SEC's Office of International Affairs, will leave the agency at the end of next month after 13 years of public service. The SEC's Office of International Affairs ("OIA") advises the Commission on cross-border enforcement and regulatory matters, and engages in regulatory dialogues with authorities outside the U.S. Mr. Tafara joined the SEC staff in 2000 and has served as Director of OIA for the past 10 years. Lofchie Comment: Mr. Tafara has long been a central figure in the discussion of issues of cross-border financial regulation. In