The MSRB issued its 2016 Compliance Advisory for Municipal Advisors. The advisory highlights compliance risks for municipal advisors and provides examples of conduct that could result in violations of various MSRB Rules, including the following: MSRB Rule A-12 ("Failure to Register with the MSRB") MSRB Rule G-3 ("Failure to Ensure That Associated Persons Are Properly Qualified") MSRB Rule G-44 ("Failure to Implement an Appropriate Compliance Program") MSRB Rules A-12, G-3, G-32 and G-34 ("Failure to Recognize When Placement Agent Activity May Be Brokerage Activity") MSRB Rule G-17 ("Failure to

The SEC named Marc Wyatt as the Director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") and the leader of the OCIE's National Examination Program. Previously, Mr. Wyatt was the OCIE's Deputy Director. He also has been the office's Acting Director since the departure of former director Andrew Bowden in April 2015.

Former SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher, SEC Investor Advisory Committee member James K. Glassman, and former House Financial Services Committee Chief Economist J.W. Verret participated in a panel discussion on proxy advisory services sponsored by the George Mason Mercatus Center. The panel discussed the regulatory framework that gave rise to the current reliance on proxy advisors, as well as problems arising from that framework and potential regulatory and legislative reforms.

In a policy paper titled In Defense of Derivatives: From Beer to the Financial Crisis, New York University Clinical Professor of Finance Bruce Tuckman extolled the benefits of derivatives. Policies that recognize the usefulness of derivatives and of holistic risk management and supervision, he wrote, will encourage businesses to use derivatives appropriately and, at the same time, reduce systemic risk. Professor Tuckman made the following arguments against several regulatory initiatives: mandatory clearing may break apart bilateral portfolios that previously had comprised diversified

The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Energy ("OIG") signed off on the cybersecurity program implemented by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC"). According to the OIG 2015 Audit Report on FERC's Unclassified Cybersecurity Program, FERC "implemented the tested attributes of its cybersecurity program in a manner that was generally consistent with requirements established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security." Specifically, the OIG tested the following "major topic