FINRA RN 11-20 May 2, 2011 FINRA published a regulatory notice to announce that May 16, 2011 will be the effective date of amendments to the FINRA rules that subject asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities, and other similar securities to trade reporting through TRACE and the fees associated with it. Cross References FINRA Rule 6700 Series (TRACE Rules) FINRA Rule 7730 SEC Release No. 34-64364 (approving rule amendments) SEC Release No. 34-64041 (approving fee amendments) SEC Release No. 34-61566 (approving rule changes subjecting ABS to TRACE)

SEC Release No. 33-9204 / 34-64372 April 29, 2011 The SEC and CFTC, in consultation with the Fed, published a joint proposal to further define the terms "swap," "security-based swap," and "security-based swap agreement." Among other things the proposal would, (1) exclude certain insurance products from the definitions of swap and security-based swap; (2) exclude certain consumer and commercial transactions (such as consumer loans and mortgages, property leases, and warehouse lending arrangements) from the definitions of swap and security-based swap; (3) distinguish types of products are "swaps

European Union April 29, 2011 The European Commission has opened two antitrust investigations concerning the Credit Default Swaps market. In the first case, the Commission will examine whether 16 investment banks and Markit, the leading provider of financial information in the CDS market, have colluded and/or may hold and abuse a dominant position in order to control the financial information on CDS. If proven such behaviour would be a violation of EU antitrust rules. In the second case, the Commission opened proceedings against 9 of the banks and ICE Clear Europe, the leading clearing house

FINRA AWC Letter No. 20110259827-01 May 2, 2011 FINRA announced that it has barred a former representative of an Illinois-based broker-dealer for engaging in insider trading and failing to truthfully respond to questioning by FINRA investigators. The action alleges that the representative knowingly traded on the basis of insider information, and then falsely testified to FINRA that he did not know anyone currently or formerly employed at the company in whose shares he traded. Cross References FINRA News Release FINRA Rules 2010, 2020, 8210 Exchange Act Rule 10b-5 Exchange Act § 10(b)

SEC No-Action Letter April 7, 2011 The SEC granted Wells Fargo no-action relief under Rule 405 from being considered an "ineligible issuer" due to an SEC order regarding disclosure and sales practices relating to certain CDOs. Cross References Securities Act Rule 405