The CFTC entered an Order against a Florida attorney for violating the Commodity Exchange Act ("CEA") in connection with aiding and abetting multiple clients in an operation of illegal and fraudulent precious metal schemes. The Order requires Florida defendant to pay a $150,000 civil monetary penalty and restitution of $733,000. The defendant is also not to appear or practice as an attorney before the CFTC until he has been reinstated by the Order. See: CFTC Press Release.

On the fourth anniversary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Representative John Ratcliffe (R-TX) introduced legislation to eliminate it in order to "stop this runaway agency." Senator Cruz and Representative Ratcliffe called for their legislation to be passed in order to "give Congress the opportunity to free consumers and small businesses from the CFPB's regulatory blockades and financial activism, which stunt financial growth." They also denounced the CFPB as "one of the least accountable regulatory agencies in the Federal Government" due to its receipt

At the American Enterprise Institute, House Financial Services Committee Chair Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) asserted that the Dodd-Frank Act has rendered the United States a "less stable, less prosperous, and less free" country. U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, announced that he will continue to work with farmers and ranchers to undo the repercussions of the Dodd-Frank Act. See: Chair Hensarling's Press Release; Chair Roberts' Statement. Related news: House Financial Services Committee Releases Video Criticizing Dodd-Frank (July 20

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") assessed a multimillion-dollar penalty against a bank and its affiliate and ordered the bank to identify and make restitution to the customers it harmed. The OCC found that the bank's billing and marketing practices violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1), which prohibits unfair and deceptive acts or practices. The penalty imposed by the OCC reflected a number of factors, including the scope and duration of the violations and financial harm to customers from the unfair and deceptive practices. The OCC

SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen criticized the Federal Reserve "capital surcharge rule" for systematically important banks. He stated that the final rule constricts "the ability of financial institutions to lend, facilitate capital formation and drive economic growth." Mr. Bentsen also noted that although SIFMA appreciates the Federal Reserve's changes to the rule, which are intended to improve its calculation methodology, "questions remain regarding the fundamental analysis that underpins the rule." Mr. Bentsen argued that "the final rule does not appropriately recognize the