On December 14, 2012, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) proposed regulations under Section 165 and Section 166 of the Dodd-Frank Act to increase the oversight of U.S. operations of foreign banking organizations (FBOs) – foreign banks that maintain a U.S. branch or agency office. The proposed regulations follow on the heels of FRB Governor Daniel K. Tarullo’s speech on November 28, 2012, announcing the FRB’s intent to adopt such regulations. In proposing the regulations, the FRB cites the increasing complexity of FBOs in the United States and the attendant risks that

The SEC announced that a federal judge in Boston, Massachusetts entered a final judgment against registered investment adviser EagleEye Asset Management, LLC, and its sole principal, Jeffrey A. Liskov in an action the Commission previously filed against them. The Commission’s action alleged that that the defendants defrauded advisory clients concerning foreign currency exchange (“forex”) trading. The Commission alleged that, as a result of this conduct, EagleEye and Liskov violated Section 10(b) [Manipulative and deceptive devices] of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 [Employment of manipulative

The Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) have published a disclosure framework and assessment methodology for their Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMIs), the new international standards for FMIs. The disclosure framework is intended to promote consistent and comprehensive public disclosure by FMIs in line with the requirements of the PFMIs, and the assessment methodology provides guidance for monitoring and assessing observance with the PFMIs. Both the framework and methodology facilitate

The CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued a no-action letter providing certain swap dealers with limited relief surrounding the requirement that chief compliance officers of such swap dealers prepare and submit an annual report, pursuant to Commission Regulation 3.3. The relief is applicable to all swap dealers that: (1) are required to register by December 31, 2012; (2) are currently regulated by a U.S. prudential regulator or are registrants of the SEC; and (3) have a fiscal year-end of December 31, 2012 (Covered Firms). According to the letter, the Division

The SEC is releasing an exemptive order from the "locate," short sale price test, and close-out requirements of regulation SHO for sales of vault securities. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the Depository Trust Clearing Corporation (DTCC) reported significant damage throughout DTCC's vault. As a result, physical certificates have been considered inaccessible. Sales of owned securities, whose settlement is dependent on the delivery of such physical certificates, may experience settlement delays as a result of the inaccessibility of the physical certificates. These delays have implications