The most notable part of the Commissioner's speech was her criticism of the position taken by banking regulators to impose capital charges on customers' segregated funds that are held by CFTC-regulated entities. Her opinion on this point likely reflects a near-unanimous consensus (leaving aside the opinions of the banking regulators themselves). Commissioner Bowen observes that there is some irony in the banking regulators' assertion of a position that may seem to strengthen the…

As to the assertions of Senator Warren and her colleagues, please note:

 gives the SEC Chair essentially plenary power to direct the activities of SEC staff. There is no distinction in the Statute between the authority of an Acting Chair and a permanent Chair. Therefore, Acting Chair Piwowar has the authority granted to the Chair of the SEC by Section 4B.

Contrary to the Senators' concern that Chair Piwowar acted exclusively on the basis of his visit to Africa, Chair…

The most significant commentary was probably that of Investment Company Institute General Counsel David Blass, particularly given the fact that registered investment companies are likely the primary investment vehicle for individual accounts. His points were as follows: (i) even if one believes that the Volcker Rule provides some benefit, the rulemaking and interpretative process that the Rule requires makes it almost impossible to obtain any regulatory advice or relief, (ii) the Volcker…

From the perspective of a longtime industry participant, the extent to which FINRA may be properly viewed as a "self-regulatory" organization is fair to question.

gives the SEC tremendous authority over FINRA, including the right to reject rules adopted by FINRA, but also the authority to require that FINRA adopt rules. Further, the SEC has the authority to bring enforcement actions against FINRA (). As a result, FINRA and its employees must be concerned that, should they fail to…