FINRA AWC Letter No. 2008015443301 April 11, 2011 FINRA announced that it fined a broker-dealer $2 million and ordered it to pay $8.25 million in restitution in connection with allegedly misleading investors as to the "principal protection" feature of certain Lehman-issued notes. In particular, FINRA alleges that the firm failed to properly emphasize to investors that the notes were unsecured obligations of Lehman when they sold them to investors in the summer of 2008. FINRA also cited the firm's failure to advise sales personnel of signs of weakness in Lehman's financial strength, and that it

FINRA AWC Letter No. 20080117193-01 April 12, 2011 FINRA announced that it fined a broker-dealer for deficiencies in its structured products business, including (1) unsuitable sales of reverse convertible securities; (2) inadequate supervision of sales practices; and (3) inadequate supervision of accounts funded loans from its affiliated bank. FINRA alleges that the BD, despite increased sales in structured products, failed to implement processes for reviewing or approving any particular structured product prior to offering to customers. In addition, FINRA alleges that the firm did not have

SEC Press Release 2011-89 April 7, 2011 The SEC and CFTC published a joint staff study, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act, on the feasibility of requiring standardized computer-readable algorithmic descriptions to describe complex and standardized financial derivatives. The study concluded that current technology is capable of representing derivatives in a common set of computer-readable descriptions, and would be precise enough to use both for calculation of exposures and to serve as part of a binding legal contract. The study also notes that before this would be possible, universal

International Swaps and Derivatives Association April 8, 2011 On 5 April 2011, the House of Lords European Union Committee recommended a UK opt-in to the European Commission's proposal to revise the Brussels I Regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. The European Commission's new proposal would repeal and replace the current, imperfect legislation with a more modern Regulation which directly addresses the European market in cross border derivative transactions.

The European Parliament April 5, 2011 On 5 April 2011, the European Parliament published a revised opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs on the proposed European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The opinion contains suggested amendments for the regulation which sets out: i) the conditions for authorising Central Counterparties (CCPs) to ensure that there are appropriate central clearing mechanisms in place; and ii) that the reporting of derivatives to trade repositories will enable enhanced analysis of systemic risk. EMIR is expected to be adopted on 7 June 2011 when the European