The SEC approved MSRB amendments extending the restrictions regarding gift-giving and related recordkeeping requirements that currently are applicable to brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers to municipal advisors. The amendments apply to MSRB Rules G-20 ("Gifts, Gratuities and Non-Cash Compensation") and G-8 ("Books and Records to Be Made by Brokers, Dealers and Municipal Securities Dealers").

FDIC Vice Chair Thomas M. Hoenig asserted that "while there has been progress in improving capital regulation, much remains undone." In remarks made before the 18th Annual International Banking Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, he argued: "there is no place for complacency regarding the stability of our financial system." Vice Chair Hoenig emphasized that global banks "are not as well capitalized as some within the industry would have you believe." As to: Risk Prediction: Vice Chair Hoenig questioned "whether the effect of such a requirement that is designed to make a firm

The FDIC issued guidance to FDIC-supervised institutions on the interaction between the regulatory capital rule and the final rule that implements Section 13 (Prohibitions on Proprietary Trading and Certain Relationships with Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds) of the Bank Holding Company Act (Volcker Rule). Highlights of the guidance include the following: The Volcker Rule prohibits banking organizations from holding ownership interests in covered funds after the relevant conformance period, with the exception of ownership interests that arise from sponsoring covered funds totaling less

The North American Securities Administrators Association ("NASAA") reminded investors to exercise caution before investing in "three products recently making news: marijuana-related investments, binary options and digital currency." NASAA President and Maine Securities Administrator Judith Shaw stated: "At first glance, these products appear to have no real connection to one another. But what they all have in common is their recent emergence as three investments that both sellers and buyers hope will become the 'next big thing.' Before you consider investing, make sure you understand what

The FDIC's proposal for the imposition of a surcharge on the quarterly assessments of insured depository institutions was published in the Federal Register. The surcharge would apply only to institutions with total consolidated assets of $10 billion or more. The surcharges would begin with the calendar quarter after the reserve ratio of the Deposit Insurance Fund first reached or exceeded 1.15 percent - the same time at which the lower regular deposit insurance assessment rates takes effect - and would continue through the quarter during which the reserve ratio first reached or exceeded 1.35