New rules and rule proposals from BYX, NYSE Arca, and the OCC: BYX: Proposed Rule - Change to Adopt a Retail Price Improvement Program NYSE Arca: Effective Immediately - Change Relating to the First Trust CBOE S&P 500 VIX Tail Hedge Fund OCC: Final Rule - Change Relating to the Auction Process under Options Clearing Corporation Rule 1104

FINRA is filing with the SEC a proposed rule change to amend the FINRA Rule 6700 Series and Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine dissemination protocols regarding the reporting and dissemination of transactions in TRACE-Eligible Securities that are: (1) agency pass-through mortgage-backed securities traded in specified pool transactions, and (2) asset-backed securities backed by loans guaranteed as to principal and interest by the Small Business Administration and traded either in Specified Pool Transactions or as TBAs. Cross-Reference(s): FINRA Rule 6700; see also Lofchie's Guide to Broker

NFA submitted a proposed rule change to the CFTC regarding the proposed amendments to the Interpretive Notice to NFA Compliance Rule 2-9: FCM and IB anti-money laundering program. The compliance rule applies to notice-registered broker-dealer and IB transactions in securities futures products. The NFA made the following rule clarifications: (i) for omnibus accounts opened by an intermediary, AML is of the intermediary but not of the underlying holders; (ii) for the account of a pool, AML is of the pool but not of investors in the pool; and (iii) in a give-up arrangement, it's the clearing

The SEC is proposing amendments to Rule 506 of Regulation D and Rule 144A under the Securities Act. These amendments are intended to implement Section 201(a) of the JOBS Act. The proposed amendment to Rule 506 would provide that the prohibition against general solicitation and general advertising contained in Rule 502(c) of Regulation D would not apply to offers and sales of securities made pursuant to Rule 506, provided that the issuer "take reasonable steps to verify" that all purchasers of the securities are accredited investors. The SEC did not, however, specify particular methods an

Cadwalader Client Friends Memo. On July 17, 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") reached a groundbreaking $165 million settlement with a credit card issuer in its first enforcement action, ordering Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. to refund $140 million to two million customers who had purchased its credit card "add-on" products, and to pay a $25 million fine into the CFPB's Civil Penalty Fund. The CFPB is a powerful regulatory agency that was created by the Dodd-Frank Act to implement and enforce federal consumer financial laws and to promote fair, transparent, competitive and