By a vote of three to two, the SEC approved a proposal to adopt listing standards for the mandatory repayment by executive officers of erroneously awarded compensation. The proposal would direct national securities exchanges and associations to establish the standards, and companies to adopt policies that obliged their executive officers to repay inapposite compensation that was intended to be incentive-based. It is the final proposal involving executive compensation rules to be required by Dodd-Frank. The proposal creates Rule 10D-1 requiring listed companies to develop and enforce recovery

The SEC voted to publish a concept release requesting public comment on current audit committee disclosure requirements. According to the concept release, the SEC is interested in receiving comments on information about the relationship between audit committees and auditors, and whether improvements can be made to enhance the information provided to investors regarding an audit committee's responsibilities and activities. Specifically, the SEC is inviting comments on whether its disclosure requirements should be refined to provide more insight into the information used by an audit committee

The SEC's notice announcing the compliance date for the ban on third-party solicitations under Investment Advisers Act Rule 206(4)-5 (the " Pay-to-Play Rule") was published in the Federal Register. The compliance date is July 31, 2015. See: 80 FR 37538. Related news: Compliance Date Set for Ban on Third-Party Solicitations in Connection with Political Contributions (June 26, 2015); MSRB Determines to Proceed with Best-Execution Standard and Expanded Pay-to-Play Rules (May 6, 2014); MSRB Announces Items for Discussion at Board of Directors Meeting (April 23, 2014); SIFMA Submits Comments to the

The SEC issued interpretive guidance clarifying how it will interpret the terms "spouse" and "marriage" in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Windsor. The interpretive guidance was published in the Federal Register. The interpretive guidance stated that the SEC will read the terms "spouse" and "marriage" to include, respectively: (i) "an individual married to a person of the same sex if the couple is lawfully married under state law, regardless of the individual's domicile," and (ii) "such a marriage between individuals of the same sex." This interpretive guidance became

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") released its first determination of the aggregate consolidated liabilities of all financial companies in accordance with Dodd-Frank Act Section 622 ("Concentration Limits on Large Financial Firms"). The determination "prohibits any financial company from combining with another company if the resulting company's liabilities exceed 10 percent of the aggregate consolidated liabilities of all financial companies." The limit applies to the following financial companies: insured depository institutions, bank holding companies, savings and