The SEC today charged a Chicago-based securities dealer affiliated with online brokerage firm optionsXpress with violating the registration provisions of the securities laws when it continued trading operations after delisting from the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and deregistering with the SEC, apparently to avoid an audit. View full release here, or link to the SEC Order (links externally to SEC website).

View study here. A ll Dodd-Frank related studies and reports can be accessed via our Dodd-Frank Studies table. Cross Reference Dodd-Frank § 342

The latest Advisers Act Enforcement Action -- David E. Howard II; IA-3396 (released 04/17/2012).

by Chairman Mary L. Schapiro U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Before the Subcommittee on TARP, Financial Services and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs Oversight and Government Reform CommitteeU.S. House of Representatives April 17, 2012 View testimony in full here (links externally to SEC website).

The SEC today unanimously adopted a new rule to define a series of terms related to the over-the-counter swaps market. The rules, written jointly with the CFTC, implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that established a comprehensive framework for regulating derivatives. “Adopting these entity definitions is a foundational step in the establishment of the new regime to regulate trading in this significant market,” said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. “These rules clarify for market participants whether their current activities will subject them to comprehensive oversight in the coming months