The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ( DSIO) released a letter to all futures commission merchants ( FCMs) to clarify the record keeping requirements for customer segregated and secured funds maintained in carrying broker omnibus accounts in accordance with CFTC Regulations 1.20 and 30.7. Specifically, the Commission notes that a few FCMs have maintained a single combined customer omnibus account with a carrying FCM for segregated and secured customer trading and assets. The CFTC stated that a single account holding both segregated and secured assets, regardless of memo

U.S. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., and 52 Senators submitted a letter to the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke et al., requesting that federal banking officials consider community banks' ability to lend money when they consider proposed standards that could require banks to hold more capital. According to the Senators, the complex new rules in an international agreement on bank capital standard (i.e. Basel III) would add little value to community banks since community banks have little access to capital markets, and the proposed rules are so complex and expensive they could diminish lending

The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has approved new uniform trading rules intended to apply to the vast majority of financial products and market participants. The proposals will take the form of updates to the current MiFID regime. Under the proposals, firms structuring investment products will be required to tailor and market them to defined groups of clients. All market players and trading venue operators will also be required to set out criteria for fair and orderly trading, efficient execution of orders and on instruments may be traded on their systems.

Four senior House Republicans sent a joint letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner in which they urged that the Secretary, in his role as Chairman of the Financial Stability Oversight Council ("FSOC"), cause the CFTC to delay the effectiveness of its swap rules past October 12. In the letter, the Representatives criticize the CFTC for failing to coordinate either with non-US regulators or with the SEC. The failure to coordinate with non-US regulators will be to the long-term detriment of US firms (in the view of the Representatives). In addition, the Representative say that the CFTC's failure to

There were oral arguments on Friday in the ICI v. CFTC case that (combined with the recent decision in the ISDA suit vs. the CFTC, and the ongoing discussions with the CFTC over the regulation of securitization and like vehicles [see related Cadwalader C&F memo]) caused me to look at the case documents (the main ones are linked below). The general background of the case is as follows: Investment Company Institute et al. v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Plaintiffs: Investment Company Institute (ICI) and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Defendant: U.S. CFTC Amicus: Mutual Fund Directors Forum