The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB") has filed two separate releases with the SEC proposing rules regarding examination and compliance reports for broker-dealers pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In the first release, the PCAOB proposed rules on Attestation Standard No. 1 ("Examination Engagements Regarding Compliance Reports of Brokers and Dealers"), and Attestation Standard No. 2 ("Review Engagements Regarding Exemption Reports of Brokers and Dealers"), as well as related amendments to the PCAOB standards. Both of the proposed attestations focus on auditor review of a

The American Bankers Association ("ABA"), the Financial Services Roundtable ("FSR") and SIFMA submitted a joint letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) urging the Senators to adopt "information sharing legislation" that would allow firms and the government to share information and coordinate efforts relevant to cybersecurity. The letter states that the financial service sector has made material investments to address cybersecurity issues, including enhancing the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (

The Board of Directors of SIFMA announced that it has elected several new members to leadership positions on the Board for 2014. The new principal officers include: Jim Rosenthal, Chair; Bill Johnstone, Chair Elect; John Rogers, Vice Chair; and Bernard Beal, Treasurer. See: Newly Elected SIFMA Board of Directors.

The Managed Funds Association ("MFA") submitted comments to the UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") regarding the proposed guidance on implementing the remuneration provisions of the Alternative Investment Fund Manager's Directive ("AIFMD"). In the comment letter, the MFA encouraged the FCA to: limit the remuneration provisions to EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers ("AIFMs") and not extend the rules to delegates of EU AIFMs; amend the FCA's suggested implementation approaches to determine what payments are made in connection with a person's ownership interest in an AIFM to better

Mercatus Scholar and former Congressional Staffer Hester Peirce has published an article discussing the ways in which Dodd-Frank expanded and enhanced the regulatory authority of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") over banking institutions, financial firms and their subsidiaries. According to the article, Dodd-Frank gave the FRB new authority over several types of institutions, including: certain financial market utilities; institutions engaged in payment, clearing and settlement activities designated as systemically important by the Financial Stability Oversight