FINRA issued a notice informing member firms that the fee rate for certain securities transactions on exchanges and in the OTC markets will increase from $13 to $20.70 per million dollars in transactions.

The Investment Company Institute ("ICI") expressed opposition to New York State bills (see here and here) that would reduce the rebate of stock transfer sales tax from 100 percent to 60 percent. In a comment letter, the ICI claimed that the proposed reduced rebate would substantially increase the cost of funds' portfolio transactions. The ICI said that at the very least any reduction of the rebate on stock transfer tax must not apply to Investment Company Act-registered funds. The ICI further argued that any reduction in the rebate to funds would impact investors, specifically "average

The Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee ("HFSC") held a hearing to consider six legislative proposals intended to "hold public company executives accountable to both investors and the general public" including: the " Insider Trading Prohibition Act," sponsored by Representative Jim Himes (D-CT), which generally codifies existing federal prohibitions on insider trading and also overturns a requirement from the Second Circuit decision in United States v. Newman where a tippee knew about the "personal benefit" received

CFTC Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo identified elements of successful regulatory and supervisory cooperation between the United States and Europe: overcoming history, building trust, commitment to shared principles, and addressing challenges. In remarks at the Eurofi Financial Forum in Bucharest, Mr. Giancarlo acknowledged that the CFTC's 2013 cross-border guidance "alienated many overseas regulatory counterparts" and said that when he became CFTC Chair, he took steps to acknowledge the issues prompted by the CFTC's "expansive approach to applying its swaps rules to cross-border activities"

The Federal Reserve Board ("FRB") approved changes to its Payment System Risk Policy relating to intraday credit that is available to U.S. branches and the agencies of foreign banking organizations ("FBOs"). The changes remove references to the Strength of Support Assessment ranking and to the financial holding company status of FBOs. The FRB also approved the adoption of alternative methods for determining (i) an FBO's eligibility for a positive net debit cap, (ii) the size of its net debit cap and (iii) an FBO's eligibility for requesting a "streamlined procedure to obtain maximum daylight