The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA") is filing with the SEC a proposed rule change to amend the Discovery Guide ("Guide") used in customer arbitration proceedings to provide general guidance on electronic discovery ("e-discovery") issues and product cases, and to clarify the existing provision relating to affirmations made when a party does not produce documents specified in the Guide. The proposed rule change fulfills FINRA's commitment to review the topics of e-discovery and product cases with the Discovery Task Force ("Task Force") that FINRA established in 2011

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA") is filing with the SEC a proposed rule change to amend FINRA Rule 12403 of the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes ("Customer Code") to simplify arbitration panel selection in cases with three arbitrators. Under the proposed rule change, FINRA would no longer require a customer to elect a panel selection method, and parties in all customer cases with three arbitrators would get the same selection method. FINRA would provide all parties with lists of ten chair-qualified public arbitrators, ten public arbitrators, and

The European Commission provided an "invitation" to the CFTC as to the extension of the CFTC's "Exemptive Order" (on the cross-border application of swap regulation) in Dodd-Frank. The invitation goes on to urge the CFTC to extend this "Exemptive Order" until international principles on cross-border swap rules have been agreed upon and implemented. Lofchie Comment: The use of the word "invitation" in the heading of the letter is really an intriguing word choice. One can imagine that the European regulators found the word "demand" too harsh and the word "request" too soft. "Suggestion" would

The European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") presented technical advice on the Evaluation of Regulation 236/2012 to the European Parliament and the Council on Short Selling and Certain Aspects of Credit Default Swaps in compliance with its reporting obligation on the appropriateness, impact and operation of the Regulation's requirements and restrictions. The report indicated that the short-selling regulation increased market transparency, reduced risks of fails and led to a decline in liquidity, a decrease in bid-ask spreads, and a decline in the speed of price discovery. Among the

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) issued a statement criticizing the decision by the Financial Stability Oversight Council to designate certain non-bank financial firms as "too big to fail." See: Press Release.