The Federal Reserve Bank of New York ("NY Fed") hosted a workshop on the challenges of reforming culture and conduct within the financial services industry. Participants discussed firm-specific best practices and opportunities for future collaboration. Mr. Dudley called the workshop a "progress report on the industry's efforts" and urged regulators to focus "less on the search for bad apples and more on how to improve the apple barrels." Mr. Dudley emphasized that the Dodd-Frank Act not only "strengthened bank balance sheets," but also "did little to curb misconduct," which remained "a

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") Vice Chair Stanley Fischer argued the case for "monetary policy independence to help foster desirable macroeconomic outcomes and financial stability." In an address before the National Economists Club, he stated that the economic environment has changed considerably in the quarter-century since economists began studying "the theory and evidence on the potential benefits of monetary policy independence." "The interaction between financial stability and monetary policy, its implications for central bank independence, and the resulting

University of Houston Finance Professor Craig Pirrong analyzed the recent conviction of a commodities trader for engaging in "spoofing" ( i.e., entering bids and offers with the intent to cancel before execution). In a blog post titled "I'm Not Spoofing You about Judicial Overkill," Professor Pirrong characterized the prosecution as "judicial overkill . . . that can do serious damage to the markets." Professor Pirrong made three broad points in order to reinforce his argument that treating such activity as a criminal matter and imposing harsh sanctions is unwise. First, Professor Pirrong

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") published responses to frequently asked questions ("FAQs") concerning CFTC Forms CPO-PQR and CTA-PR. The FAQs address issues ranging from Form CPO-PQR and Form CTA-PR filing mechanics and deadlines to technical questions regarding asset reporting classification. DSIO staff intends to update the FAQs on an as-needed basis in order to clarify issues for the broadest range of filers.

The Investment Company Institute (ICI) voiced support for the Financial Stability and Oversight Council (FSOC) Improvement Act ( H.R. 1550). Passed by the Financial Services Committee, the bill (i) addresses potential risks to the financial system; (ii) makes FSOC's designation process more accountable and transparent; and (iii) ensures that a nonbank entity will be designated as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI) only when systemic risk cannot be addressed more effectively by that entity's primary regulator or an action on the part of the entity itself. More generally, the