The Federal Reserve Board ("FRB"), FDIC, Officer of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC"), SEC and CFTC (the "Agencies") issued final rules implementing Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act, commonly known as the "Volcker Rule." In addition to the final rules, the FRB issued an order further extending the conformance period provided under Section 619, which was previously set to expire this coming July, for one additional year. As a result, covered banking organizations will have until July 21, 2015, to fully conform their activities and investments to the Volcker Rule's requirements

The SEC approved a temporary exemption from the deadline for filing the Consolidated Audit Trail ("CAT") National Market System ("NMS") Plan pursuant to Rule 613(a)(1) of Regulation NMS ("Consolidated Audit Trail"). Under the temporary exemption, SROs do not have to submit the NMS plan to govern the creation, implementation and maintenance of a CAT and central repository. The SEC stated that granting the exemption is appropriate in light of the need for the SROs to establish a deadline for finalizing and submitting bids to the request for the proposal. The exemption will expire on September 30

At the 2nd Annual Institute for Corporate Counsel, SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher delivered a speech in which he discussed corporate disclosure reform. Commissioner Gallagher stated that, without an effective disclosure policy, the SEC cannot foster capital formation in fair and efficient markets. He also stated that, from an investor's perspective, "excessive illumination by too much disclosure can have the same effect as obfuscation - it becomes difficult or impossible to discern what really matters." According to Commissioner Gallagher, the SEC must engage in a self-examination of its

SEC Commissioner Michael S. Piwowar delivered remarks at a London conference, stating that, in order to maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, the SEC must conduct a comprehensive review of equity market structure. Commissioner Piwowar noted that, in 1961, Congress mandated that the SEC undertake the study and investigation of the adequacy of rules of national securities exchanges and national securities associations. This resulted in a 19-month analysis and a five-part report titled "Report of Special Study of Securities Markets of the Securities and Exchange Commissioner." The study

The Financial Stability Oversight Council ("FSOC") held an open meeting regarding financial security at which regulators and members from the industry discussed cybersecurity in the financial system. Additionally, the Office of Financial Research ("OFR") gave a presentation on financial market developments regarding data standards. C lick here to view a summary of the FSOC meeting by Delta Strategy Group.