The CFPB is amending Regulation B and the commentary to the regulation. The final rule revises Regulation B to implement an Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA") amendment concerning appraisals and other valuations that was enacted as part of the Dodd-Frank Act. In general, the revisions to Regulation B require creditors to provide to applicants free copies of all appraisals and other written valuations developed in connection with an application for a loan to be secured by a first lien on a dwelling, and require creditors to notify applicants in writing that copies of appraisals will be

The Financial Stability Oversight Council ("FSOC") announced that it has extended the comment period for proposed recommendations for money market mutual fund ("MMF") reform. At the request of the SEC's Chairman, FSOC voted to extend the comment period until February 15, 2013. The extension is intended to afford the public more time to consider the information in the SEC staff report issued on November 30, 2012. Prior to this extension, public comments on the proposed recommendations were due by January 18, 2013. Lofchie Comment: In SEC Commissioner Gallagher's speech, as headlined in today's

SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher delivered a speech before the U.S. Chamber Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness addressing what he believes to be false assumptions underlying the Dodd-Frank Act. Commissioner Gallagher asserted that the Dodd-Frank Act has failed to address crucial issues, such as the reform of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and money market mutual funds, as well as the inadequacies of the short-term funding model of banks that continue to be too big to fail. Commissioner Gallagher also stated that the Act fails to eliminate the redundancy of having regulators share

The SEC has adopted amendments to Exchange Act Rule 17Ad-17 ("Transfer Agents' Obligation to Search for Lost Securityholders") to implement the requirements of Dodd-Frank Section 929W. That Section added to Exchange Act Section 17A subsection (g), "Due Diligence for the Delivery of Dividends, Interest, and Other Valuable Property Rights," which directs the SEC to revise Rule 17Ad-17. The revision is intended to: extend the requirements of Rule 17Ad-17 to search for lost securityholders from only recordkeeping transfer agents to brokers and dealers as well; add a requirement that "paying agents

The MSRB announced in a regulatory notice that it is seeking input from municipal securities market participants to guide the design of the next generation of electronic reporting and public dissemination of municipal securities trades. According to the notice, one of the core elements of the MSRB's long-range plan for market transparency is the development of a central transparency platform to enhance public access to real-time pricing information about municipal securities transactions. As part of its information-gathering process, the MSRB is requesting market input on potential