The SEC issued and requested public comment on a tick test pilot program, as proposed by FINRA and the exchanges. The details of the pilot program include: a one-year pilot period; three test groups and one control group, with 400 pilot securities in each group (for a total of 1600 pilot securities): control group pilot securities will be quoted and traded at any price increment that is permitted; Test Group One pilot securities will be quoted in $0.05 minimum increments but may continue to trade at any permitted price increment; Test Group Two pilot securities will be quoted and may only be

The Alternative Investment Management Association, American Council of Life Insurers, Association of Institutional INVESTORS, Commodity Markets Council, Customer Commodity Coalition and MFA (collectively, "Trade Associations") sent a letter to the Financial Stability Board ("FSB") regarding a proposal to suspend counterparties' early termination rights during U.S. bankruptcy proceedings. In the letter, the Trade Associations expressed concern that using prudential regulations to amend the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will harm the financial system by "compelling customers and investors to waive

The North American Securities Administrators Association ("NASAA") issued a report, titled "NASAA Enforcement Report: 2014 Report on 2013 Data," that revealed a significant rise in the number of formal enforcement actions initiated by state securities regulators in 2013 against licensed broker-dealer sales agents, unlicensed individuals and firms. According to the report, the leading actors in enforcement actions brought by state securities regulators continue to be unlicensed individuals and firms. Additionally, states reported 810 actions against unlicensed individuals and firms in 2013 – an

The National Futures Association ("NFA") issued a Notice to Members to announce its 2014 list of nominees for positions on the NFA's Board of Directors and on the 2015 Nominating Committee. If an NFA member wishes to submit other nominees by petition, then the petition must be received by the Office of the Secretary of the NFA by November 25, 2014. See: NFA Notice to Members I-14-29.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council ("FFIEC") released observations culled from its recent cybersecurity assessment, and recommended that regulated financial institutions participate in the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center. FFIEC members piloted the assessment in the summer of 2014 to evaluate the degree to which institutions were prepared to mitigate cybersecurity risks. The "FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment General Observations" sets forth a number of general themes from the assessment, and offers questions that CEOs and boards of directors should