The purpose of this bill (originally introduced on August 26, 2011 by Congressman Robert J. Dold, referred to the House Committee on Financial Services) is to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in order to clarify provisions relating to the regulation of municipal advisors. The bill addresses: (1) the definition of municipal advisor; (2) the definition of investment strategies; (3) the definition of solicitation of a municipal entity; and (4) the elimination of the federal fiduciary standard for municipal advisors. In the latest major action (as of September 12, 2012), the bill was

Wells Fargo filed an application requesting an exemption from section 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) (Functions and activities of investment companies), section 17(a)(1) and (2) (Transactions of certain affiliated persons and underwriters), and rule 12d1- 2(a) (Exemptions for Investment Companies Relying on Section 12(d)(1)(G)) under the Investment Company Act. The requested order would (i) permit certain registered open-end management investment companies to acquire shares of other registered open-end management investment companies and unit investment trusts (‘‘UITs’’) that are within and outside the

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) has introduced legislation that he asserts would raise billions to invest in our economy by taxing highly speculative financial transactions. The Inclusive Prosperity Act (H.R. 6411) would tax the sale of stocks, bonds and derivatives sold by Wall Street firms. The tax imposed would be 0.5 percent on stocks, 0.1 percent on bonds, and 0.005 percent on derivatives or other investments. The press release announcing the bill is titled "Taxing Wall Street to Restore Main Street." Jean Ross, a registered nurse and co-president of National Nurses United, is quoted in the

The OCC has issued a bulletin providing national banks and federal savings associations (collectively, banks) with guidance on appropriate credit risk management practices for investor-owned, one- to four-family residential real estate (IORR) lending where the primary repayment source for the loan is rental income. The bulletin is intended to promote consistent risk management practices and to summarize the applicable requirements for such lending, noting that repayment sources for IORR loans may be volatile and highly leveraged. The bulletin addresses, among other topics, the OCC's

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) filed a proposed rule change that would allow OCC to provide central clearing of index options on the S&P 500 that are negotiated bilaterally in the over-the-counter market and submitted to OCC for clearance. View notice in full here (links externally to GPO website).