Fresh faces and unfinished business will define the coming year in securities regulation. As the end of President Obama’s first term draws to a close several top regulators have decided to move on. At the Securities and Exchange Commission, for example, Chairman Mary Schapiro stepped down, replaced by Commissioner Elisse Walter. But new blood doesn’t […]
Joe Mont
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Business Groups Appeal Decision on CFTC’s Mutual Fund Rules
The Chamber of Commerce and the Investment Company Institute have appealed a judge’s decision that allows the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to begin new oversight of mutual funds and exchange traded funds that invest in commodity futures, swaps and options. Earlier this year, the CFTC removed established exemptions for registered investment companies (RICs) once they […]
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OCC Warns Banks About Escalating Wave of Hacker Exploits
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is warning banks to review their risk management programs and take necessary precautions against escalating attacks by fraud-minded hackers. In an alert issued to national banks and federal savings associations, the regulator is warning of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks being used to perpetrate customer account […]
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Detective Work Needed to Find Missing Investors Under New SEC Rules
You may be getting some good news if you forgot about that shoebox of stock certificates Grandpa had stashed in the attic. For the first time, broker-dealers will have a duty to reach out and find investors they have lost touch with under new rules approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. A […]
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EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan Sets Priorities Through 2016
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has approved a Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) that highlights six areas its enforcement efforts will focus on through 2016. National priorities detailed in the SEP released last week include: Targeting recruitment and hiring practices that discriminate against racial, ethnic and religious groups, older workers, women, and people with disabilities. Protecting […]
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New EDGAR Form Coming for Disclosing Sanction Violations
A new EDGAR form, called IRANNOTICE, will be introduced by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 14 to satisfy reporting requirements mandated by the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012. Signed into law by President Barack Obama in August, the Act extends existing sanctions against Iran and Syria to foreign […]
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SEC Releases Agenda for Decimalization Roundtable
The Securities and Exchange Commission has provided details of an upcoming roundtable to discuss the effect of decimal-based stock trading on small- and mid-sized companies, market professionals, investors, and securities markets. Domestic stock markets adopted decimal pricing increments in place of fractions in 2001, in part to address concerns the U.S. was at a competitive […]
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Cross-Border Exemptions Slammed as ‘Backdoor Repeal’ of Derivatives Reforms
Equating cross-border exemptions to a last-minute, “backdoor repeal” of derivatives reforms demanded by the Dodd-Frank Act, members of the advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform are urging regulators to focus on domestic protections ahead of international concerns and big bank lobbying efforts. During a press conference held Wednesday by the coalition of nearly 250 national […]
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Regulators Urged to Adopt a Single, Unified Volcker Rule
The Bipartisan Policy Center—a Washington D.C. based think tank founded by former Senate majority leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell—has sent a letter to the Treasury Department and the five federal financial regulators, calling for “one consistent Volcker Rule” and a new public comment period for proposed regulations. The letter crafted […]
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Legal and IT Still Not Speaking the Same Language
Legal and information technology departments need to work hand-in-hand when responding to litigation and regulatory investigations. Just because they are on the same team, doesn’t mean they are on the same page. A mere 8 percent of executives believe those departments fully understand each other, according to a new Deloitte poll that surveyed 990 business […]
