The CFTC announced the filing and settlement of charges against Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. for exceeding speculative position limits in wheat and cotton futures contracts in trading on the Chicago Board of Trade and ICE Futures US. The CFTC ordered a $350,000 civil monetary penalty and cease and desist from further violations of the position limits provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. Lofchie Comment: This is the third CFTC position limits enforcement action in the last several days; it's starting to feel like a trend. Clients interested in the

Section 719(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act mandates that the SEC and CFTC jointly conduct a study to determine whether stable value contracts ("SVCs") fall within the definition of a "swap". Section 719(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act also requires that the Commissions, in making that determination, jointly consult with the DOL, the Treasury, and the State entities that regulate the issuers of SVCs. Further, Section 719(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act provides that if the Commissions determine that SVCs fall within the definition of a "swap," they jointly shall determine if an exemption for SVCs from the

FINRA Chairman and CEO, Richard G. Ketchum, delivered a speech at the SIFMA Complex Products Forum addressing what he believes is the growing importance of the wide array of complex products in the retail market, and the crucial need to supervise at every stage of the distribution process. Chairman Ketchum discusses the lack of "merit" regulation (i.e., denying retail investors the opportunity to invest in risky or complicated products) in the U.S. as we instead largely rely on disclosure requirements. In the speech, Chairman Ketchum states that some forms of merit-based product approval may

FINRA announced the issuance of a new Investor Alert to explain how, when and why interruptions in trading occur. The alert further discusses both what brokers are required to do and what investors should do in these situations. Lofchie Comment: The alert provides a nice summary of relevant regulations requiring trading halts in different situations; e.g., trading suspensions when there is an information problem as to a company, pauses when a single stock is volatile, market wide circuit breakers, and so on. View investor alert here (links externally to FINRA website). See also: FINRA Press

The SEC has released an investor bulletin to help educate investors about affinity fraud, a type of investment scam that preys upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities or the elderly. The bulletin is outlined as follows: What is Affinity Fraud? How Does Affinity Fraud Work? How to Avoid Affinity Fraud Recent Affinity Fraud Schemes What Should You Do if You Suspect Affinity Fraud? Additional Information View bulletin in full here (links externally to SEC website).