Failure to supervise off-channel communications cases are fairly straightforward. This case is notable in that the supervisory and recordkeeping failures are tied to another material violation: the failure to produce required documents imposed in an arbitration.  

It is difficult to say whether this no-action letter is "significant." On the one hand, no one in the market believes that the answer is anything other than the one that the SEC gave. That said, if the SEC had given a different answer, the SEC would have blown up a good part of the financial markets. So, disaster avoided; in that sense, the letter is significant. 

While most of the remarks are peace and love, there is one aspect that is not, although it does not concern the historic jurisdictional fighting between the SEC and the CFTC. It is CFTC Chair Selig's statement that the CFTC "has the expertise and responsibility to defend its exclusive jurisdiction over commodity derivatives," by which he means that the CFTC intends to resist any authority of the States over prediction markets, such as markets for sports events.  

It is not…

Director Selway's comments on 24/7 trading are further illustrative of how much culture at the financial regulators has shifted with this Administration. Prior regulators might have impeded the move to 24/7 (which was likely inevitable with the growth of Asian markets) worrying that some investors would be injured by trading during hours when the market is less liquid. By contrast, this Administration emphasizes the advantages of the ability to trade at all times gives the US markets over…