The CFTC yesterday issued an order filing and settling charges that, over an 18-month period, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (Morgan Stanley), a registered futures commission merchant (FCM), unlawfully executed, processed, and reported numerous off-exchange futures trades to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) as exchanges for related positions (EFRPs). The CFTC order requires Morgan Stanley to pay a $5 million civil monetary penalty and to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, as charged. View release

European Securities and Markets Authority April 26, 2012 ESMA has published a report on the divergence of the use of administrative and criminal sanctions by national regulators under MAD. This report will be used in the legislative process on the new market abuse regime.

European Securities and Markets Authority April 26, 2012 ESMA has begun discussions with non-EU supervisors of entities subject to the provisions of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, aimed at examining areas where co-operation will be necessary. ESMA will lead the negotiation of co-operation arrangements with third country authorities, which will culminate in the execution of memoranda of understanding by the competent EU authorities.

European Securities and Markets Authority April 27, 2012 ESMA has declared that it considers the regulatory framework for credit rating agencies in Brazil to be equivalent to the EU rules. European financial institutions will be allowed to continue relying on Brazilian credit ratings for regulatory purposes after April 30, 2012. ESMA has also entered into a co-operation agreement for the supervision of credit rating agencies with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission.

European Banking Authority May 15, 2012 The European Banking Authority has published a discussion paper outlining its preliminary thoughts of what should be the key elements of a EU-wide bank recovery plan. The EBA has invited comments on the discussion paper, which should be sent in no later than June 15, 2012.