European Securities and Markets Authority On 26 March 2012, ESMA published a revision of its waiver document (ESMA/2011/241) which provides information on the pre-trade transparency of trading systems already set up in the European Union and informs on the compliance of such systems with MiFID, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.

View the Advisory here. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight (DMO) today issued an Advisory regarding the treatment of bona fide hedging transactions and positions under Commission Regulations 1.3(z), 1.47, and 1.48 as they existed prior to the adoption of the final rule addressing Position Limits for Futures and Swaps. The Division issued the Advisory at this time to remind market participants that regulations 1.3(z) and 1.48 will continue to apply to position limits under the Commission’s part 150 regulations until 60 days after the Commission

View letter here. Date: 03/20/2012 The CFTC's Division of Market Oversight issued a letter to market participants providing temporary and conditional no-action relief for less than fully compliant reporting under the CFTC's large trader reporting system for physical commodity swaps and swaptions. Clearing organizations and clearing members began reporting under the system on November 21, 2011. This temporary relief is intended to provide sufficient time for the industry and the CFTC to transition to fully compliant reporting under new Part 20 of the CFTC's rules by July 2, 2012. The compliance

FINRA Reg. Notice 12-16 FINRA is increasing qualification examination fees, and assessing a service charge for any Regulatory Element Continuing Education (Regulatory Element) session taken in a test center located outside the United States. Effective Date: April 2, 2012 Cross References: SEC Release No. 34-66465, 77 FR 12635 (Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness); FINRA Rule 1230; NASD Rule 1021; NASD Rule 1022; NASD Rule 1031; NASD Rule 1032; NASD Rule 1041; NASD Rule 1050.

Financial Services Authority On 23 March 2012, the FSA announced that contracts with the FSA for TRS transaction reporting will terminate on 23:59 on 24 April 2012.