The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced publication of its final rule regarding company-run stress testing required by the Dodd-Frank Act. This final rule implements section 165(i) of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires certain companies to conduct annual stress tests pursuant to regulations prescribed by their respective primary financial regulatory agencies. The rule applies to covered institutions with average total consolidated assets greater than $10 billion. Under the final rule, covered institutions are divided into two categories: covered institutions with total

The ICE Exchange announced that it is implementing various rule amendments which delete provisions for open outcry trading of Exchange contracts, effective with the transition to exclusive electronic trading of options contracts after the close of business on October 19. The amendments have have no impact on electronic trading, and can be found in Exchange Rule Amendment Submission 12-55. View notice in full here (links externally to ICE website).

This proposed rule would implement section 165(i)(2) of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires certain financial companies with total consolidated assets of more than $10 billion, and which are regulated by a primary federal financial regulatory agency, to conduct annual stress tests to determine whether the companies have the capital necessary to absorb losses as a result of adverse economic conditions. This particular rule would authorize the FHFA to mandate stress testing by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. One of the minor eccentricities of the proposal is that it would

The Asset Securitization Forum ("ASF") has published a request it has made to the CFTC as to the proposed extent of CFTC regulation of securitization vehicles as "pools" by reason of their entering into swaps. The relief requested by the letter varies depending on the status of the vehicle; e.g., whether it is a "legacy" vehicle, the structure of the vehicle, and the purpose of the vehicle. Lofchie Comment:I would largely reiterate the comments that I made inyesterday's news as to ICI's challenge to the CFTC's rule amendment that would provide for the regulation of SEC-registered investment

The European Commission has published draft decisions by which, once finalized, it will recognize the legal and supervisory frameworks of the United States, Canada, and Australia as equivalent to the European Union requirements for credit rating agencies under the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation. This step follows the endorsement of the regimes by the European Securities and Markets Association, which provided the European Commission with technical advice on the equivalence of the regimes in April of this year. Lofchie Comment: The topic of one country's recognition of another country's