Financial Services Committee ("FSC") Chair Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) delivered the opening remarks at an FSC hearing on capital and liquidity standards. Chair Hensarling stated that "relying on regulators to calibrate risk and predict future economic conditions according to highly complex models - models that neither market participants nor regulators themselves fully understand - clearly appears to be a recipe for financial crisis." See: Chair Hensarling on Capital Standards: Is There a Better Way?

FINRA filed a proposed rule change with the SEC that would update cross-references to reflect the adoption of new consolidated rules regarding payments to unregistered persons. Se e: FINRA-Proposed Rule on Adopting Consolidated FINRA Rulebook.

The SEC announced that three former supervisory employees of a penalized company named in an enforcement action have agreed to settle charges stemming from the unregistered sales of billions of shares of penny stocks on behalf of a single customer. The SEC's orders found that the previous employees failed to make the requisite inquiry into the facts behind the sales despite prominent red flags associated with the sales. Associate Director of the SEC Division of Enforcement Scott W. Friestad stated that "these actions show the SEC's resolve in holding responsible individuals, including senior

CFTC Chair Timothy G. Massad offered a brief history of the reforms implemented in the derivatives markets and set out future priorities for the CFTC. He delivered his remarks in a keynote address before the District of Columbia Bar Association. Chair Massad recommended additional steps to be taken in the Dodd-Frank implementation process, including: (i) increasing clearinghouse resiliency; (ii) enhancing swap dealer oversight; (iii) reviewing possibilities for the swap dealer de minimis threshold ( i.e., should it stay at $8 billion notional, as it is set currently, or decline to $3 billion

SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher criticized the Department of Labor's proposed definition of "fiduciary" (the "Fiduciary Proposal") as well as conflict of interest requirements for retirement investment advice and related proposed exemptions and amendments. The Commissioner asserted that the Fiduciary Proposal "is grounded in the misguided notion that charging fees based on the amount of assets under management is superior in every respect and for every investor to charging commission-based fees". He predicted that "the rule, when finalized, will harm investors and U.S. capital markets." He