FINRA published a proposal to amend its Rule 4210 to reconsider the margin requirements applicable to TBA and other agency transactions. The proposal is intended to build on the set of best practices adopted by the Treasury Market Practices Group ("TMPG") of the New York Fed, which became effective December 31, 2013. The scope of the FINRA-proposed rules is coterminous with the TMPG recommendations ( i.e., it would cover TBAs (including ARMs), specified pool transactions and forward-settling CMOs, collectively referred to in the proposal as "Covered Agency Securities"). Comments to FINRA on

The National Futures Association ("NFA") issued a notice regarding a January 8, 2014, letter from the CFTC requesting that all futures commission merchants ("FCMs") and introducing brokers ("IBs") make available certain information on suspicious activity report filings. The Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") prohibit FCMs and IBs from disclosing that a Suspicious Activity Report ("SAR"), or any information regarding the SAR, was filed. The regulation provides, however, that FCMs and IBs are permitted to make SAR

CFTC Commissioner Scott O'Malia delivered remarks to the Commodity Markets Council, discussing areas of regulation that he believes the CFTC must address and reform, including technology and data, swap trade execution and the impact of rules on end users. According to O'Malia, if the CFTC does not invest in and improve its technology, "major oversight functions will be severely impaired." He stated that the CFTC is making progress towards improving the quality of its data, citing a recent announcement that the CFTC will establish a cross-divisional team to identify data utilization problems

The SEC announced that it is designating a longer period to take action regarding the FINRA amendments to Form BR. It is extending the period to consider the rule change until March 13, 2014. See: Notice of Designation of a Longer Period for Commission Action. Related news: FINRA Proposes Rule to Amend Uniform Branch Office Registration Form (Form BR) (November 25, 2013).

The SEC charged a public accounting firm with violating rules that require auditors to remain independent from the public companies that they are auditing to ensure they maintain their objectivity and impartiality. The SEC's investigation found that KPMG had violated the independence rules with respect to three different audit clients. The violations resulted from a variety of sources: (i) in one case, a KPMG employee involved in accounting functions had been loaned back to the client; (ii) in two instances, KPMG was providing impermissible non-audit services to an affiliate of the client (an