SIFMA, as part of the Bank Loan Disclosure Task Force, released the attached white paper regarding voluntary secondary market disclosure by state and local government issuers and conduit borrowers about bank loans. The study notes that disclosure about bank loans is not currently required by Exchange Rule 15c2-12, and indicates that the unavailability of such information may be significant.In addition to the principal topic of the study, which is interesting in itself, the study also raises questions (footnote 3) as to whether certain bank loans may be "securities," and, if they are securities

Effective May 25, 2013, the Section 31 fee rate applicable to specified securities transactions on the exchanges and in the over-the-counter markets will decrease from its current rate of $22.40 per million dollars in transactions to a new rate of $17.40 per million dollars in transactions. Click here to view information notice in full (links externally to FINRA website).

CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton delivered a keynote address to the Energy Bar Association in Washington, D.C. on Targeted Transaction Fees ("TTF") concerning end users engaging in speculation. Commissioner Chilton discussed the "financialization" of commodity markets by traders called Massive Passives. This trading strategy, where there is so much Massive Passive liquidity on the buy side that values cannot be based on the fundamentals of supply and demand, is one example of how markets are morphing, according to Chilton. In addition, high-frequency traders, or cheetahs, impose quantifiable

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) announced the committee's upcoming hearing schedule. The next hearing (on swaps regulation and the JOBS Act) is scheduled for May 7. View Press Release in full here (links externally to House Financial Services Committee website).

The MSRB announced that Milroy A. Alexander, former MSRB Board member and chief executive officer of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, has joined the Board of Directors to serve as a public representative through September 30, 2013. The MSRB also announced that Benjamin S. Thompson, Managing Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Samson Capital Advisors, will continue his service as a public representative on the Board through September 30, 2014. The 21-member Board, which establishes regulatory policies and oversees the operations of the MSRB, has eleven members who represent the