The Federal Reserve, the OCC and the FDIC have announced that they are considering changes to the implementation timeline for the annual company-run stress test requirements mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act. Additional details as to the timing for Dodd-Frank stress test requirements will be included in forthcoming final rules. For institutions with between $10 billion and $50 billion in total consolidated assets, which are regulated by these agencies, the changes under consideration would delay implementation until September 2013. Additional Materials: 2012 Banking and Consumer Regulatory Policy

The SEC approved amendments to FINRA Rule 4560 (Short-Interest Reporting). These amendments will: codify the requirement that member firms report only "gross" short interest existing in each proprietary and customer account; clarify that member firms' short-interest reports must reflect only those short positions which have reached settlement date by the close of the FINRA-designated reporting settlement date; and delete existing exceptions to Rule 4560 for stabilizing activity, domestic arbitrage and international arbitrage while retaining exceptions for (1) any sale by any person for an

FINRA has filed with the SEC a proposed rule change to amend the Customer and Industry Codes of Arbitration Procedure to provide that FINRA arbitrators shall issue orders (instead of issuing subpoenas) for the appearance of witnesses or the production of documents. View text of rule change here(links externally to FINRA website).

ISDA circulated the attached chart, outlining ISDA's schedule for finalizing the "ISDA Disclosure" (standardized general and product-specific risk disclosures), which is being developed to assist with implementation of the disclosure requirements from the CFTC's external business conduct rule (see 77 FR 9734). ISDA is working toward a final publication date of September 15.

The CFTC is adopting regulations to implement certain provisions of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act. Section 731 of the Act added a new Section 4s(i) to the Commodity Exchange Act, which requires the CFTC to prescribe standards for swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs) related to the timely and accurate confirmation, processing, netting, documentation, and valuation of swaps. These regulations set forth requirements for swap confirmation, portfolio reconciliation, portfolio compression, and swap trading relationship documentation for SDs and MSPs. Dates: The rules will become