The MSRB is seeking approval from the SEC on a proposal to expand the disclosures made by municipal securities dealers in connection with contributions to bond ballot measure campaigns. The MSRB believes that making additional information available will help it and the public to determine the extent to which contributions affect the integrity of the municipal bond underwriting business. View Proposal in full here (links externally to GPO website). See also: Press Release.

The SEC announced that a final judgment was entered against a Russian Trader and his wife for their role in a serial scheme involving insider trading ahead of numerous health care-related acquisitions, tender offers, and other transactions. Also, a final judgment was entered against Igor Poteroba, a former investment banker, for misappropriating highly confidential inside information about those health care transactions, and tipping that information to his friend, Aleksey Koval, who, in turn, tipped Vorobiev. The SEC's complaint alleges that, for over four years, Poteroba, Koval, and Vorobiev

The GAO published a report which examined whether or not the Dodd-Frank Act will lower systemic risk and reduce the possibility or severity of a future crisis. The report proved largely inconclusive. According to the report, the increased regulation of complex financial instruments and the enhanced supervision over financial giants, with the possibility of liquidation if they pose a systemic risk, has led some experts to believe that Dodd-Frank will reduce the losses associated with a future crisis. Others, however, speculate that Dodd-Frank's effectiveness depends largely on the rulemaking of

The Financial Services Authority has imposed a fine of pound;9.45 million on UBS in relation to the bank's failures in the sale of the AIG Enhanced Variable Rate Fund to nearly 2,000 of its high net worth customers.

SEC Chairman Elisse B. Walter delivered a speech on the Commission's Dodd-Frank Act activities thus far, emphasizing the accomplishments over the past year. The main topics covered in her testimony include: Hedge Fund and Other Private Fund Adviser Registration and Reporting; Whistleblower Program; OTC Derivatives; Clearing Agencies; Staff Studies Regarding Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers; Credit Rating Agencies; Volcker Rule; Municipal Advisors; Asset-Backed Securities; Corporate Governance and Executive Compensation; Specialized Disclosure Provisions; Exempt Offerings; Financial