The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued a no-action letter providing exemptive relief to a CPO of two community pools regarding certain annual reporting requirements. In the letter, the CFTC permitted an extension to the CPO to file the annual report for the pools for the period from October 2, 2014, the date the pools began trading, to December 31, 2015. See: CFTC Letter 15-45.

The SEC concept release requesting public comment on current audit committee disclosure requirements was published in the Federal Register. The SEC is seeking public comment regarding audit committee reporting requirements, with a focus on the audit committee's reporting of its responsibilities with respect to its oversight of the independent auditor. According to the SEC, individuals have expressed a view that the SEC's disclosure rules for this area may not result in disclosures about audit committees and their activities that are sufficient to help investors understand and evaluate audit

The NYSE halted trading before noon and resumed trading before the end of the day due to what the NYSE described as internal technical issues. SEC Chair White announced that the SEC was in contact with the NYSE. Lofchie Comment: The trading halt at the NYSE will pose an interesting challenge to the regulators. Will they respond to the NYSE's technical failure by bringing an enforcement action? Previous cases demonstrate that enforcement actions are simply not an effective means of preventing future technology failure. Instead, the regulators need to encourage information sharing that will

SIFMA issued a statement criticizing the International Monetary Fund ("IMF") Financial System Stability Assessment. The Assessment focused on investment funds such as mutual funds, exchange traded funds and pension funds. SIFMA president and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., stated that IMF's Assessment made assertions about risks posed by mutual funds that are "not backed by empirical evidence or analysis." Moreover, he asserted that "speculative and unsubstantiated reports that target asset managers and disregard basic facts about the industry could hamper managers' ability to serve investors

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a hearing focusing on the role of the Financial Stability Board ("FSB") in the U.S. regulatory framework. The following witnesses testified: The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, President and CEO, American Council of Life Insurers (view testimony); Mr. Eugene Scalia, Partner, Gibson, Dunn, Crutcher (view testimony); Mr. Paul Schott Stevens, President and CEO, Investment Company Institute (view testimony); The Honorable Peter Wallison, Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies American Enterprise Institute (view testimony); and