The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued no-action relief to an insurance company to allow the company to provide reinsurance of pension plans' longevity risks through multi-step "Interposed Longevity Reinsurance Transactions," without such reinsurance being considered as insurance or a guarantee of a swap. The DSIO found that that the use of derivatives in an Interposed Longevity Reinsurance Transaction serves merely as a conduit for longevity risk coverage and payments made pursuant to a bona fide reinsurance transaction. Therefore, the DSIO confirmed, it

The Asset Management Group of SIFMA ("SIFMA AMG") submitted comments to the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") requesting that it exclude To-Be-Announced trades ("TBAs") from the definition of derivative contracts under European Market Infrastructure Regulation ("EMIR"). In the letter, SIFMA AMG suggested that TBA trades should not be classed as derivative contracts for the following reasons: TBA trades are appropriately classified as spot trades (cash market trades) as they settle within the standard settlement cycle of the securities being purchased; TBA trades should be classified

The Managed Funds Association ("MFA") and the Alternative Investment Management Association ("AIMA") submitted a joint letter to the Australian Treasury reiterating their concerns with the current draft legislation to implement the investment manager regime ("IMR"). The MFA and AIMA expressed concern that if the legislation were to be enacted in accordance with the January 2014 draft, funds would face tax uncertainties that would deter them from appointing an Australian investment manager or making investments in Australia. See : MFA-AIMA Comment Letter.

The CFTC announced that it enhanced the CFTC Portal to allow market participants, including designated contract markets, swap execution facilities ("SEFs") and swap data repositories, to submit event-specific reports to the CFTC electronically in order to comply with rules that require market participants to report to the agency in a timely and confidential manner. The CFTC Portal Project was launched in September 2012 as an electronic mechanism to support Dodd-Frank and the requirements for electronic submissions. Since its inception, the CFTC has added features to allow electronic

FINRA announced that the SEC approved amendments to FINRA Rule 5210("Publication of Transactions and Quotations") to limit "self-trading." The new rule change would, among other things, add Supplementary Material .02 to FINRA Rule 5210 to address members' obligations with respect to certain securities transactions that result from the unintentional interaction of orders originating from the same firm, known as "self-trades," that involve no change in the beneficial ownership of the security. The rule amendments establish a distinction between two types of transactions in which the same person