Manal Corwin, Assistant Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs, announced on December 4 at an International Fiscal Association conference in New York City that final regulations under FATCA will grandfather from withholding obligations issued or entered into prior to January 1, 2014, as well as any collateral supporting such obligations. Previously, IRS Announcement 2012-42 had grandfathered obligations, that pay U.S. source income issued or entered into prior to January 1, 2013. Corwin also stated that collateral in pools that support grandfathered obligations and obligations that do

The Spanish Ministry of Finance has announced that Spain and the United States have initialed an Intergovernmental Agreement ("IGA") under FATCA based on the reciprocal Model I government-to-government form. A copy of the IGA has not yet been released. The Swiss State Secretariat for International Affairs has announced that Switzerland and the United States had initialed an IGA based on the Model II Form IGA. Under Model II, foreign financial institutions report account information directly to the U.S. IRS at the direction of the foreign government, supplemented by requests from the U.S. to

ICE Futures U.S. released an updated FAQ on block trades. See link below. View FAQ in full here (links externally to ICE website).

Market Regulation is issuing this Exchange Notice to provide guidance on the use of electronic systems in connection with block trading. ICE Futures U.S. Rule 4.07 permits the execution of privately negotiated trades which meet the requirements set out in the Rule regarding eligible parties, pricing and reporting. Effective Date: December 20, 2012. View Notice in full here (links externally to ICE website).

NASAA released the attached notice stating that it has found that crowdfunding's presence on the Internet has risen sharply in anticipation of rules to allow small businesses and entrepreneurs to raise investments online. The press release states that NASAA is anticipating an increase in online fraud stemming in part from passage of the JOBS Act, and, in connection therewith, NASAA has created a task force on Internet fraud investigations to monitor crowdfunding offerings. Click hereto view notice in full (links externally to NASAA website).