The NFA's Board of Directors ("Board") unanimously approved amendments to the NFA's Articles of Incorporation. The amendments would reduce the size of the Board, eliminate special voting rules for Board actions, allow the non-member nomination of Public Directors and move the Director removal provisions to the Articles of Incorporation, among other things. While the NFA's Board approved the amendments, the amendments also require the affirmative vote of a majority of those members actually voting in each member category – Contract Market, FCM/IB, CPO/CTA and SD/MSP/RFED. All ballots must be

The Joint Forum, which consists of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, IOSCO and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, released a report titled " Developments in Credit Risk Management Across Sectors: Current Practices and Recommendations." The report provides insight into the current supervisory framework around credit risk, the state of credit risk management at firms, and implications for the supervisory and regulatory treatment of credit risk. The report is based on a survey that the Joint Forum conducted globally with 15 supervisors and 23 firms in the banking

The FINRA proposal to clarify the scope of the definition of "Asset-Backed Security" for purposes of reporting to FINRA's Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine ("TRACE") system was published in the Federal Register. It is effective immediately. Comments on the rule change can be submitted until June 23, 2015. See: 80 FR 31429. Related news: FINRA Proposes Rule Amendment to Clarify Definition of "Asset-Backed Security" in TRACE System (May 19, 2015).

The CFTC extension of the comment deadline regarding the proposed amendments to the limited trade option exemption in Part 32 of the CFTC Rules was published in the Federal Register. The CFTC extended the comment period for the proposal in light of its recent interpretation concerning forward contracts with embedded volumetric optionality. Comments on the proposed rule are now due by June 22, 2015. See: 80 FR 31326. Related news: CFTC Releases Final Interpretation of Forward Contracts with Embedded Volumetric Optionality (with Lofchie Comment) (May 12, 2015); CFTC Proposes Amendments Regarding

CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo delivered the keynote address before the Cato Summit on Financial Regulation, focusing on the importance of liquidity to reduce risks in financial markets. Commissioner Giancarlo stated that liquidity is the "life blood" of successful financial markets. He explained that the risk involved in hedging instruments helps "moderate price, supply and other commercial risks," which in turn frees up capital to boost economic growth. According to Commissioner Giancarlo, an "inferno of complex derivative products used for unfettered risk taking overseen by