House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Chairman Scott Garrett (R-NJ) submitted a letter to Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") Chair Janet Yellen, urging the FRB to discontinue its temporary overnight reverse repurchase facility ("RRP") by the end of the year. According to Chairman Garrett and Chairman McHenry (collectively, "Chairmen"), there is concern that the use of the RRP could have a "significant negative impact on the U.S. economy

SIFMA provided the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") with preliminary data on the categories of covered fund activities and investments. SIFMA expects its members to submit requests for one-year extensions of the conformance period under the Volcker Rule. According to SIFMA, while its members are working to conform their activities and investments to the Rule's requirements by July 21, 2015, certain categories of covered fund activities and investments "pose major challenges to the realization of this effort." According to SIFMA's members, conforming existing fund

The SEC published a Risk Alert and FAQs reminding broker-dealers of their obligations when engaging in unregistered transactions on behalf of their customers. The Risk Alert identifies a number of deficiencies that the SEC staff observed regarding compliance to certain obligations related to sales of securities of microcap companies. These include: insufficient policies and procedures for monitoring customer-initiated sales to identify potential red flags; inadequate controls to evaluate how customers acquired securities and whether the securities could be lawfully resold without registration

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") published FAQs regarding the competitive review process for bank acquisitions, mergers and other transactions. The FAQs, which were developed jointly with the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), provide answers to questions often raised by banking organizations that are considering filing applications, and also explain changes to the application process mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act. Additionally, the FAQs cover factors considered by the FRB and DOJ in conducting competitive analyses for bank applications. See: FAQs on Competitive Review

The FINRA-proposed rule change to extend the Tier Size Pilot pursuant to FINRA Rule 6433 ("Minimum Quotation Size Requirements for OTC Equity Securities") was published in the Federal Register. The rule change will extend the Tier Size Pilot to February 13, 2015 rather than November 14, 2014. Although the rule change is effective immediately, comments may be submitted until October 30, 2014. S ee: 79 FR 61120. Related news: FINRA Proposed Rule Change to Extend Tier Size Pilot of FINRA Rule 6433 (November 6, 2013).