FINRA has filed with the SEC a proposed rule change to amend the FINRA Rule 6700 Series and the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine ("TRACE") dissemination protocols to disseminate additional Asset-Backed Securities transactions and reduce the reporting periods for such securities. FINRA also proposed to rename the broad ground of securities, currently defined as "Asset-Backed Securities," as "Securitized Products," and to redefine the term "Asset-Backed Security" more narrowly to mean the specific securities that FINRA proposes to disseminate in the proposed rule change, along with

FINRA released a regulatory notice to announce revisions to the Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representative ("Series 6") examination program. The changes are the result of FINRA's periodic reviews of recent laws, rules, and regulations which pertain to the subject matter of the examinations. The revisions are reflected in the Series 6 content outline on the FINRA website, and will appear in Series 6 examinations administered on or after December 16, 2013. See: FINRA Regulatory Notice 13-36; Series 6 Content Outline. See also: SEC: Proposed FINRA Rule Change to Revise the

The Futures Industry Association ("FIA") sent a comment letter to the CFTC which supported the majority of the protections in its new consumer protection rule. The FIA commended the CFTC for finalizing the rule, and stated that the "codification" of these new requirements strengthens the protections and safeguards for customers. However, the FIA expressed disapproval of the CFTC's final language on residual interest, which it believes will require far-reaching changes to industry practices that will disadvantage agricultural customers and small futures commission merchants. The FIA explained

CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton spo ke before the Regulatory Compliance Association regarding the future of the financial sector. First, Commissioner Chilton noted that the financial sector has some reputation-management problems, citing CME Chairman Terry Duffy's comment, "Wall Street has suffered reputational damage. . . . I am concerned that those of us in financial services forget who we serve - and the public knows it." In order to address malfeasance in the financial sector, Commissioner Chilton made recommendations which included: (i) serious and significant penalties that are not

The CFTC Division of Market Oversight ("DMO") announced the issuance of a no-action letter extending time-limited relief for Australian-based trading platform, Yieldbroker Pty Limited ("Yieldbroker"). The extension confirms that the CFTC will not take enforcement action against Yieldbroker for its failure to register as a swap execution facility under Commodity Exchange Act Section 5h(a)(1) ("Swap Execution Facilities") or CFTC Rule 37.3(a)(1) ("Requirements for registration"), or against any market participants for use of or other relationships with Yieldbroker for an additional period