The Division published this letter stating that it would not recommend enforcement against Erste Abwicklungsanstalt ("EAA") for being an unregistered investment company, as EAA could rely on the exemption from registration provided by ICA Section 7(d)for non-U.S. investment companies. This entity is a winding-up agency created by the German Federal Agency for Financial Market Stabilization with a purely public policy purpose relating to the German government's efforts to stabilize the financial markets after the onset of the financial crisis. The debt securities of EAA will be sold in the

The CFTC Office of General Counsel today issued the attached interpretative and no-action letter regarding Eligible Contract Participant (ECP) issues. One prong of the letter deals with the treatment of guarantees under Dodd-Frank in which either the guarantor or the guaranteed party is not an ECP (and provides exemptive relief). The other principal portion of the letter allows the recipient of a loan, including of a loan that has not been fully disbursed and will not be immediately disbursed, to treat the anticipated amount of the loan as part of its current net assets for purposes of

Executive vice president and head of the Corporate Group of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Edward F. Murphy, has announced his intention to retire from the Bank in April 2013. Mr. Murphy is also a member of the Bank's Management Committee. View announcement here (links externally to NY Fed website).

The OCC is proposing to amend its retail foreign exchange rule for transactions with bank common trust funds, bank collective investment funds, and insurance company separate accounts and is making technical corrections to the rule. Comments Due: November 13, 2012. Cross-Reference(s): Dodd-Frank Title VII. View rule release here: 77 FR 62177.

SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro made remarks on the progress of the SEC's Enforcement program. In her speech, Schapiro asserts that the Commission has been doing everything it can under current law to make markets safer for investors through aggressive action, rapid restructuring and increased collaboration at both the federal and state levels. For instance, Schapiro discusses how the SEC has successfully pursued insider trading by both low-level conspirators and senior executives with ties to some of the nation's most prestigious organizations and has increased assault on overseas bribery and