At this point, firms should be well aware that the SEC has strong procedures for tracking Regulation M violations and is aggressive in imposing fines.

The new rules are less burdensome than those that were proposed originally.

When the effectiveness of a set of rules is delayed so many times, and particularly when the purpose of the delays is to reconsider policy for reasons that are not limited to diagnosing technology problems, it is a sign that the rules were not well considered from the start. Given the degree of turnover at the CFTC, it would be reasonable for the commissioners to engage in a do-over by reconsidering how these rules apply to package transactions entirely. Since it is no secret that many of…

This is an interesting case because the firms were NOT charged with a violation of Securities Exchange Act Rule 10b-5, for trading on material non-public information. The only charges brought against them were procedural; i.e., that the affiliated firms either violated their own policies, or that the policies were not clear as to what actions were intended, or that there were not adequate procedures in place to enforce the policies. (At one point in the order, there is a statement that the…