In the attached report, GAO reviewed the CFTC's new rule on the clearing exemption for swaps between certain affiliated entities. GAO found that the CFTC complied with the applicable requirements in promulgating the rule, with the exception of the 60-day delay in effective date requirement. Lofchie Comment: This is a most unusual document. The CFTC essentially self-certified that it had complied with the Administrative Procedure Act. The GAO did not seem to conduct any independent review of the CFTC's compliance. Click here to view the report in full (links externally to GAO website).

In a speech at the SEC, Commissioner Aguilar stated that an SRO Outreach Conference will soon be held to address the need for robust SEC oversight over and collaboration with the securities industry self-regulatory organizations ("SROs"). Aguilar further remarked that the SROs are faced with increased competition from electronic communications networks and foreign trading markets. Due to the fact that SROs must attract order flows to stay in business, this may, he suggested, lead them to be less inclined to enforce rules vigorously against members, issuers, and shareholders. Aguilar went on to

The SEC announced that Bruce Karpati, chief of the Enforcement Division's Asset Management Unit, will be leaving the agency for the private sector after more than a dozen years of federal service. Mr. Karpati has served at the helm of the Asset Management Unit since its inception in January 2010. Karpati joined the SEC's New York Regional Office as an enforcement staff attorney in 2000. In 2007, he founded the SEC's Hedge Fund Working Group, a cross-office initiative to investigate misconduct involving hedge funds. Click here to view announcement in full (links externally to SEC website).

The SEC and FINRA issued a joint alert about the risks associated with pension or settlement income streams and what investors need to know before buying or selling them. The alert noted how people receiving a monthly pension or regular distribution from a personal injury settlement may be targeted by salespeople offering an immediate lump sum in exchange for the rights to the future payments. Potential pitfalls outlined in the alert include: whether the transaction is legal and if retirees are restricted from "assigning" their pension; whether it is worth the cost in terms of the discount

In January, the CFPB issued several new mortgage rules under the Dodd-Frank Act. Most of these rules take effect in January 2014, but a few provisions are scheduled to take effect on June 1 of this year. In the attached proposal, the CFPB seeks comment on whether to delay the June 1 effective date with regard to a provision concerning credit insurance while the CFPB addresses some interpretive issues that have arisen about the provision. The proposal concerns the implementation of a prohibition on creditors financing credit insurance premiums in connection with certain consumer credit