CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said he supported the inclusion of swaps and derivatives in a new study on limits to proprietary trading in comments regarding the Volcker Rule. That rule, which would force banks to scale back proprietary-trading desks and curtail relationships with hedge funds and private-equity funds, is designed to discourage banks from engaging in risky trades with their own money. Any risk that a banking entity could take on in the cash markets also could be expressed through swaps and derivatives. The inclusion of both prevents regulatory arbitrage, Gensler said in prepared

News Article The CFTC may not complete limits on commodity speculation until the first quarter of next year, according to a filing on the agency's website. The top U.S. commodity regulator said it will set limits "only after collecting positional data on physical commodity swaps," the CFTC said in the filing. Publication Bloomberg Date January 18, 2011 Cross References (links may require a Cabinet subscription) Dodd-Frank Act, Title VII, Sec. 737

Financial Services Authority The FSA have published a letter to CEOs setting out 'good practices' they observed during their asset and liability management ("ALM") examinations over the last year. In the letter, the FSA expand on those observed practices and set out some suggestions. 4 key themes of the letter are: 1. The role of the senior ALM committee. The FSA review draws out the core purpose of this committee, noting that, in many firms, the committee is also responsible for designing and implementing a funds-transfer pricing mechanism. 2. The composition and authority of the senior ALM

Securities Exchange Commission The Commission will consider (i) whether to propose rule amendments that would implement Section 413(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act regarding the definition of "accredited investor", and (ii) whether to propose a rule under the Advisers Act establishing reporting obligations for advisers to private funds to implement the requirements of Sections 404 and 406 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Please contact any of the following Cadwalader attorneys if you have any questions about this item: Dorothy Mehta, dorothy.mehta@cwt.com; Ed Lyon, ed.lyon@cwt.com. Date January 18, 2011

Comment Letter (SIFMA/ISDA) SIFMA and ISDA submitted a joint comment letter to the SEC on Proposed Regulation SBSR, regarding the reporting and dissemination of security-based swap information. The letter (which is nearly 60 pages, including appendices) stresses the importance of black trade exemptions from certain of the real time public dissemination requirements of proposed Regulation SBSR, and includes a lengthy study of block trade reporting in OTC derivatives markets. In addition, the comment letter addresses, among other things, (1) consistency between the SEC rules and the rules of the