The United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office ("SFO") convicted a senior banker from a leading British bank of "conspir[ing] with numerous other individuals to procure or make submissions of rates into the Yen LIBOR setting process that were false or misleading, thereby intending to prejudice the economic interests of others." The trial of the alleged remaining 11 co-conspirators is scheduled to begin on September 21, 2015. SFO Press Release (October 7, 2014). Related news: CFTC Charges Bank with Manipulation, Attempted Manipulation and False Reporting of LIBOR and Euribor (April 23, 2015).

SIFMA and other associations (collectively, the "Associations") provided favorable comments to the U.S. Senate on the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act ("S. 754"). The Associations urged the Senate to bring the bill to a vote as soon as possible and to defeat any amendments that would undermine the legislation. See: SIFMA and Other Associations' Letter. Se e also: SIFMA Press Release.

The MSRB filed a proposed rule change with the SEC to revise the content outlines for the Municipal Fund Securities Limited Principal Qualification Examination (Series 51), the Municipal Securities Representative Qualification Examination (Series 52) and the Municipal Securities Principal Qualification Examination (Series 53). The revisions to the content outlines are effective immediately and will be implemented on August 31, 2015. See: MSRB Regulatory Notice 2015-12. Related news: MSRB to Amend Its Rules to Create Professional Qualification Standards for Municipal Advisors (Notice 2015-04)

At their quarterly meeting, the MSRB Board (the "Board") discussed several rulemaking proposals and corporate matters that will impact the fiscal year. The Board revisited an earlier proposal to require dealers to provide pricing reference information for municipal securities transactions on retail customer confirmations, and directed staff to prepare a second proposal for public comment. The Board also reviewed draft guidance that would require dealers to seek the most favorable terms reasonably available for their retail customers' transactions. The guidance will be finalized in the coming

In a paper titled "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Arbitration Study: A Summary and Critique," Mercatus scholars Jason Scott Johnston and Todd Zywicki analyzed the findings contained in a CFPB final report on the use of arbitration agreements in disputes between consumers and providers of consumer financial products. The report was released to Congress in March 2015. The scholars disagreed with most of the CFPB Report. Specifically, they argued: (i) "comparing class action settlements with arbitration awards is methodologically flawed"; (ii) "the CFPB paints a misleading picture of