FINRA released its monthly podcast for March 2013. See the outline below. Regulatory Notices Notice 1310: the SEC approved a supplemental FOCUS schedule, which applies to carrying and clearing firms; Notice 1311: FINRA waived continuing membership application fees for minor changes if they are withdrawn within 30 days of filing; and Notice 1312: changes to Regulation NMS go into effect on April 8 th, which changes existing FINRA rules. Education FINRA will host a webinar on rulemaking on April 23 rd and encourages registered representatives to submit questions that will be answered during the

The CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight (DMO) issued a no-action letter for all end-users, allowing them not to report under Part 45 of the CFTC’s regulations, as applicable, commodity trade options (as defined in Part 32), provided that the non-SD/MSP (1) reports such transactions pursuant to Form TO and (2) notifies DMO if it transacts in excess of $1 billion notional value of trade options in any calendar year. Significantly, market participants that wish to rely on the relief must notify DMO within 30 days after the notional value of their CTOs exceeds $1 billion during a calendar year

The Government Accountability Office ("GAO") released a report as to the processes in place when 401(k) plan participants separate from their employers and must decide what to do with their plan savings. The report expressed concern that participants may be encouraged to choose rollovers to IRAs in lieu of options that could be more in their interests. The GAO found that waiting periods to roll into a new employer plan, complex verification procedures to ensure savings are tax-qualified, wide divergences in plans' paperwork, and inefficient practices for processing rollovers are some factors

The Government Accountability Office ("GAO") released a report identifying deficiencies in the SEC's internal controls and accounts procedures. The report noted significant deficiencies in the SEC's reporting controls over (1) budgetary resources and (2) property and equipment transactions. While neither of the deficiencies materially affected the SEC's FYE 2012 financial statements, the GAO proposed remedial measures to prevent further misstatements. Additionally, the GAO found less significant control deficiencies concerning: (1) information security, (2) accounts payable accrual methodology

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve ("FRB") is adopting a final rule to permit banking organizations under its supervision to engage in off-exchange transactions in foreign currency with retail customers. The rule establishes requirements for risk disclosures to customers, recordkeeping, business conduct, and documentation for retail foreign exchange transactions. Regulated institutions engaging in such transactions will be required to notify the Federal Reserve and to be well capitalized, and will be required to collect margin for retail foreign exchange transactions. The following