CFTC Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen held the first meeting of the Global Markets Advisory Committee ("GMAC") under his leadership to discuss the CFTC staff advisory regarding application of the CFTC's cross-border guidance to non-US swap dealers that use personnel in the U.S. to arrange, negotiate or execute swaps with counterparties. The advisory, issued by the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO"), stated that non-U.S. swaps dealers must comply with "Transaction-Level Requirements" when using such personnel, regardless of whether the counterparty is a U.S. person. The

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Andres Truppel, a former CFO of Siemens Argentina, as well as Ulrich Bock and Stephan Signer, both former Heads of Major Projects at Siemens Aktiengesellschaft ("Siemens"). The SEC filed a Civil Action charging Bock, Signer, Truppel and four other senior executives of Siemens and its regional company in Argentina with violations of the anti-bribery, books and records, and internal controls provisions of the FCPA. The SEF found that, between 2001 and 2007, the defendants paid bribes to senior

The National Institute of Standards and Technology ("NIST") issued its "Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity," which provides a structure for organizations, regulators and customers to use to create, guide, assess or improve comprehensive cybersecurity programs. In February 2013, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13636, which called for the development of a voluntary, risk-based cybersecurity framework. The resulting framework document issued by NIST is listed as "Version 1.0" and described as a "living" document that will need to be updated to keep pace

The SEC Division of Investment Management announced updates to its frequently asked questions related to Form PF. Form PF is a reporting form for investment advisers to private funds, certain commodity pool operators and commodity advisors. Lofchie Comment : There are about 10 new questions and answers in the FAQ. Persons responsible for completing Form PF should run a word search on the term "2014" and will then be able to jump from question to question. There is some minor guidance in the new FAQ as to the treatment of repurchase agreements. Unfortunately, the entire Form really needs to be

The SEC announced new position changes. The changes are as follows: David Fredrickson will be the SEC's Associate Director and Chief Counsel in the Division of Corporation Finance; Rick Fleming will be the first head of the SEC's Office of the Investor Advocate; and Paul A. Leder will be the Director of the SEC's Office Of International Affairs. See: David Fredrickson's Press Release; Rick Fleming's Press Release; Paul A. Leder's Press Release.