The Alternative Reference Rates Committee ("ARRC") designated Tom Wipf as its new chair. He is the Vice Chair of Institutional Securities at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Wipf is succeeding Sandra O'Connor following her retirement this month. Mr. Wipf has been Morgan Stanley's representative on the ARRC since 2014 and his appointment as ARRC Chair is immediately effective for a one-year term.

Three affiliated banks agreed to resolve OFAC's investigation into apparent violations of numerous economic sanctions programs, including those concerning weapons of mass destruction ("WMD") proliferation. According to the three Settlement Agreements (see here, here and here), OFAC stated that UniCredit Bank AG, UniCredit Bank Austria AG and UniCredit S.p.A. processed payments through U.S. financial institutions without disclosing the involvement of sanctioned persons, in apparent violation of U.S. sanctions programs aimed at WMD proliferators and global terrorism, as well as Burma, Cuba, Iran

OFAC designated seven individuals and one entity alleged to be "financial facilitators and conduits for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ("ISIS") operating in Europe, Africa and the Middle East." Six of the individuals and the entity, a money services business, are allegedly part of the Iraq-based Rawi Network, which was the target of OFAC (and concurrent military) action in October 2018. The seventh individual, based in Kenya, is an alleged financial facilitator for ISIS.

The SEC named Sara Cortes and David P. Bartels as Deputy Chief Counsels of the Division of Investment Management (the "Division"). According to the SEC announcement, Ms. Cortes and Mr. Bartels will be responsible for legal and policy guidance, applications for exemptive relief, the Division's enforcement liaison program, and legislative technical assistance. Ms. Cortes will supervise the exemptive applications program. Mr. Bartels will supervise the enforcement liaison program. Ms. Cortes served as Assistant Director and head of the Investment Adviser Regulation. Mr. Bartels worked as Senior

A broker-dealer agreed to settle FINRA charges for failing to establish and enforce a supervisory system for email review. According to the Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent, Wilson-Davis & Co., Inc. ("Wilson") failed to review a sufficient number of its emails, and the design of its "lexicon-based review" was inadequate, in light of the firm's business, for catching potentially problematic emails. To settle the charges, Wilson agreed to a censure and to pay a fine of $32,500.