The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued a no-action letter on the pay-to-play rules applicable to swap dealers who conduct business with certain governmental special entities. The rules in Commission Regulation 23.451 restrict a swap dealer from engaging in certain activities with a governmental special entity if the swap dealer (or a covered associate of the swap dealer) made or solicited contributions to an official of that governmental special entity during the preceding two years, with limited exceptions. The no-action letter provides relief to swap

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") and Division of Market Oversight (DMO) jointly issued a letter providing swap dealers with time-limited no-action relief from certain requirements of the CFTC's swap data reporting rules. The no-action letter establishes a common monthly date by which all newly registered swap dealers must be in compliance with their reporting obligations, and extends the deadline for reporting historical swap transaction data required under Part 46. Under the relief: (i) no swap dealer will be required to report swap transaction data until

The SEC Office of Inspector General ("OIG") opened an investigation in response to an anonymous complaint alleging mismanagement of a computer security lab in the Division of Trading and Markets Automation Review Policy ("ARP") program. The lab, known as the ARP lab, is used to support the Division of Trading and Markets Office of Market Continuity inspection program, which inspects SRO, stock exchange and clearing agency computer networks. The anonymous complaint alleged that ARP lab staff and management inappropriately allocated and spent significant budget dollars to purchase computer

Effective Friday, December 7, 2012, the following changes are being made to procedures related to Block Trade Minimum Quantities and Reporting Deadlines: Change to Minimum Quantity Requirements for Multi-Leg Transactions for Agricultural Financial Products; Changes to Block Trade Reporting Times for Agricultural Financial Products; and Changes to Reporting Deadline for Block Trades Executed Outside of Normal Trading Hours. View Notice in full here (links externally to ICE website).

The SEC is adopting a new rule 6a-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 to establish a standard of creditworthiness in place of a statutory reference to credit ratings that the Dodd-Frank Act removes. The rule will apply to entities registered as business and industrial development companies. Effective Date: 30 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register. View final rule here (links externally to SEC website).