The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued the "Collective Investment Funds" booklet of the Comptroller's Handbook. This booklet replaces a similarly titled booklet issued in October 2005. The revised booklet provides updated guidance to examiners and bankers on collective investment funds offered to customers of national banks and federal savings associations, explains the risks inherent in such products and services, and provides a framework for managing those risks. See: Collective Investment Funds.

SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. issued a statement regarding the decision by the Department of Labor ("DOL") to delay its August 2014 fiduciary rule until at least January 2015. In his statement, Mr. Bentsen said that, from day one, the fiduciary rule has been a "troubled proposal" that would harm the ability of American investors and small business owners. Mr. Bentsen asserted that the DOL's actions "undermine the SEC's work to improve upon the standard of conduct owed by broker-dealers and investment advisers to retail clients." See: SIFMA Statement.

The SEC proposal to establish a new system of maintaining its records, "General Information Technology Records (SEC-67)," was published in the Federal Register. Additionally, the SEC proposed the revision of two existing systems of internal records: "Office of the Chief Accountant Working File (SEC-28)," last published in the Federal Register on September 11, 1997, and "Office of Inspector General Investigative Files (SEC-43)," last published in the Federal Register on June 1, 2006. According to the SEC, the purpose of SEC-67 is to provide additional authentication and authorization to

The SEC announced fraud charges and an emergency asset freeze against a transfer agent and its owner whose misappropriation scheme was exposed during an SEC examination of the firm. According to the SEC complaint, IST Shareholder Services and its owner were misusing money, which belonged to their corporate clients and the clients' shareholders, in order to fund their own payroll and business obligations. See: SEC Complaint; SEC Press Release.

On May 27, 2014, President Obama signed an Executive Order ending protections established previously under Executive Order 13303 (dated May 22, 2003), which prohibited legal process against certain Iraqi entities and assets. In particular, the new Executive Order lifts the prohibition on any "attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process with respect to the Development Fund for Iraq and Iraqi petroleum, petroleum products, and interests therein . . . and other property . . . [of] the Central Bank of Iraq." At the time of their imposition in 2003, these