MFA submitted a request to the CFTC for no-action relief for the three categories of package transactions described in Letter 14-62 for which relief from the CFTC's trade execution requirement on swap execution facilities ("SEFs") expires on November 15, 2014 ("Package Transactions"). Specifically, MFA requested no-action relief that would permit each swap component of a Package Transaction that has been "made available to trade" and is subject to the trade execution requirement, to be executed off-SEF, albeit subject to the rules of an SEF. MFA seeks time-limited no-action relief from the

The FINRA-proposed rule change to revise the operative date for the deletion of FINRA Rule 7740, pursuant to a previous FINRA rule change, was published in the Federal Register. FINRA Rule 7740 sets forth the fees to be paid by the purchaser of historical research reports regarding OTC Bulletin Board ("OTCBB") securities through the OTCBB website. FINRA filed for the deletion of Rule 7740 in SR-FINRA-2014-032, along with amendments to Rule 7710 relating to fees for the OTC Reporting Facility. In response to requests by the industry, FINRA delayed the amendments to Rule 7710 until November 17

Congressman Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, issued a statement questioning the FINRA-proposed rule to implement the Comprehensive Automated Risk Data System ("CARDS"). Representative Garrett stated that he remains "far from convinced" that a new "burdensome" proposal is needed, and questions whether the purported benefits justify the costs. See: Press Release.

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued self-executing registration no-action relief for certain commodity pool operators ("CPOs") who delegate certain activities to another registered CPO. The relief is contained in CFTC Letter 14-126 ("Revised Letter") which supersedes DSIO's prior letter on CPO delegations set forth in CFTC Letter 14-69 ("Original Letter"). Specifically, the Revised Letter provides relief from CEA Section 4m(1) to a person who has delegated certain responsibilities as a CPO ("Delegating CPO") of a commodity pool to another person who is

The CFTC announced that Division of Clearing and Risk Director Ananda Radhakrishnan plans to depart from the CFTC in the middle of November. See: Press Release.