The rules governing the transmission of "consolidated statements" (more commonly referred to as "hearsay statements") are clear: (i) a broker-dealer must send a statement as to the customer's assets held at the broker-dealer and (ii) a broker-dealer also may send a hearsay statement showing assets held away from the broker-dealer, provided that there is a clear delineation between the broker-dealer statement and the hearsay statement.

The enforcement action raises another issue that a…

The "ILLICIT CASH" Act. An ELEVEN LETTER acronym! That is impressive. If anyone is aware of federal legislation that has a longer acronym for its title, please let us know. For now, this looks like a Guinness book item. Whoever on the House side of this legislation came up with Corporate Transparency Act (what does CTA even stand for?) must now come to terms with the fact that it is the Senate's name that is going on any adopted legislation.

Commissioner Peirce's statement, while strongly in support of Reg. BI and the related rulemakings, nonetheless raises the issue as to whether the new requirements put further downward pressure on the full-service broker-dealer business model for retail investors. While it is certainly important for the agency to monitor the implementation process, and then determine whether the rule is properly calibrated to preserve the full-service business model, the practical reality is that if the rule…

Welcome to incoming Chair Tarbert. He has big shoes to fill.

Mr. Giancarlo was a principled, thoughtful and hard working regulator. Forward-looking on issues such as fintech, cybersecurity and market interconnectedness, he communicated clearly the intellectual principles which guided him. His willingness to put out those white papers demonstrated an open and considered approach to complex regulatory policy questions. He was not afraid to take on issues and critics, but he also knew…