77 FR 13490 March 7, 2012 The SEC is making technical amendments to the rule under which former SEC members and employees are required to file a statement with the SEC concerning their practice outside the government. The amendments change the office responsible for processing these statements and provide a means of filing a statement electronically. Effective Date: March 7, 2012 Cross References: Exchange Act Section 23(a)(2); SEC Conduct Rule 8(b); 17 CFR § 200.735-8.

Financial Services Authority February 15, 2012 The FSA has imposed a financial penalty of £350,000 on Andrew Osborne for engaging in the market abuse offence of improper disclosure in breach of section 118(3) of FSMA. Andrew Osborne was, at the time of the offence, a managing director in the corporate broking group of Merrill Lynch International who were acting for Punch Taverns as joint book runner and co-sponsor in relation to a transaction to issue new equity.

European Union February 22, 2012 EU Commissioner Michel Barnier has appointed members of a high level Expert Group on possible reforms to the structure of the EU banking sector. The Group will examine structural aspects of the EU's banking sector. The Group will determine whether structural reforms of EU banks would strengthen financial stability and improve efficiency and consumer protection. The Group will now begin work and present its final report to the Commission by the end of Summer 2012.

February 28, 2012 The Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group of ESMA has issued guidelines on: (i) certain aspects of the MiFID compliance function requirements; and (ii) certain aspects of the MiFID suitability requirements.

European Securities and Markets Authority February 23, 2012 The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a discussion paper on the key concepts of an Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and the types of AIFM. ESMA is seeking the views of external stakeholders on the policy orientations it has identified in order to progress its work to achieve a harmonised application of the Directive, and might consider developing some additional convergence tools for this purpose in future. The closing date for receipt of comments is March 23, 2012.