According to a recent report in Reuters, the European Union is likely to postpone the compliance deadline for U.S. clearinghouses until June 15, 2015. According to the original story, the new deadline comes after ongoing negotiations between the CFTC and the European Union failed to reach an agreement reconciling swaps rules across international jurisdictions. An EU spokesperson is quoted as saying that the delay had been proposed officially and "would be adopted shortly." Without the delay, the current compliance deadline is December 15, 2014. See: MFA Blog. Related news: CFTC Commissioner

The NFA issued a Notice to Members announcing that FINRA will increase its fees for the administration and delivery of the NFA's qualifications examinations on January 1, 2015. On January 1, 2015, the fees will increase as follows: the fee for the Series 3: National Commodity Futures Examination will increase from $115 to $125; and fees for the Series 30: NFA Branch Manager Examination, Series 31: Futures Managed Funds Examination, Series 32: Limited Futures Examination – Regulations, and Series 34: Retail Off-Exchange Forex Examination will all increase from $75 to $80. See: NFA Notice I-14

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") issued a financial institution letter regarding the filing and documentation procedures for state banks engaging, directly or indirectly, in activities or investments that are permissible for national banks. According to the letter, a state bank (or its subsidiary) engaging in activities or investments permissible for a national bank (or its subsidiary) should establish and maintain files documenting that those activities are permissible for a national bank. A state bank is not required to file an application or notice to engage in activities

On November 18, 2014, the D.C. Circuit granted the petitions of the SEC and Amnesty International for a panel rehearing of the court's ruling to overturn parts of the SEC's rule on conflict minerals. The per curiam order deferred the pending petitions for rehearing en banc, and directed the parties to file supplemental briefs addressing the following specific questions: What effect, if any, does the court's ruling in American Meat Institute v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, 760 F.3d 18 (D.C. Cir. 2014) ( en banc), have on the case's First Amendment issue regarding the conflict mineral

The CFTC announced the launch of a national campaign to assist investors in identifying and protecting themselves against financial fraud. The campaign includes a new Web site, SmartCheck, which allows investors to conduct background checks of financial professionals. Additionally, the campaign includes interactive videos that will help investors to spot investment offers that are potentially fraudulent. Se e: Press Release; SmartCheck.