SEC Chair Mary Jo White delivered remarks at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies regarding the need to increase boardroom diversity. The SEC Chair drew on her personal experiences and on studies of corporate America. Specifically, Chair White discussed gender diversity in boardrooms, stating that gender and minority diversity brings "a richness and variety of experiences and perspectives that benefit companies and shareholders." According to Chair White, gender diversity in boardrooms has not received sufficient attention. All too frequently, Chair White noted, female

SIFMA submitted a comment letter to the SEC requesting further relief from the recently imposed requirement under the Financial Responsibility Rules that a broker-dealer obtain prior written consent from a customer before placing customer funds into a sweep program (the "Rule"). On February 26, 2014, SIFMA requested and obtained a no-action letter from the SEC providing relief from the requirement to obtain prior written affirmative consent from a customer to participate in a sweep program. SIFMA stated that it believes this is the appropriate time to address whether a more permanent solution

The SEC announced the latest sanctions in a continuing enforcement initiative against certain hedge fund advisers and private equity firms that participated illegally in an offering of a stock after short selling it during a restricted period. The SEC found that 19 firms and one individual trader engaged in the short selling of particular stocks shortly before they bought shares from an underwriter, broker or dealer participating in a follow-on public offering. The individual trader and each of the firms agreed to settle the SEC's charges and pay a combined total of more than $9 million in

The SEC and the U.S. Small Business Administration ("SBA") announced that they will host events jointly to inform small business owners and entrepreneurs about new options that are and will become available for capital raising under the JOBS Act. According to the SEC press release linked below, representatives from the SEC's Office of Small Business Policy in the Division of Corporation Finance, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, and Office of Minority and Women Inclusion will co-host the events with the SBA's Office of Investment and Innovation, and Office of Entrepreneurial

The Asset Management Group of SIFMA ("SIFMA AMG") submitted a letter to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision ("BCBS") expressing concerns with the potential market impact of the Net Stable Funding Ratio ("NSFR") outlined in the BCBS January 2014 Consultative Document. SIFMA AMG requested that the BCBS consider the impact that the proposal will have on all potential participants in the markets for equities, repurchase agreements and corporate debt, including funds and clients managed by SIFMA AMG members. SIFMA AMG recommended that the BCBS conduct a Quantitative Impact Study to adopt a