News Centre

Remarks Of Assistant Treasury Secretary For Financial Institutions Cyrus Amir-Mokri At The Securities Industry And Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Conference “Cybersecurity Standards: Exploring The NIST Framework.”

Date 18/03/2014

Good morning. Thank you for having me. I commend SIFMA on organizing this seminar dedicated to discussing President Obama's Executive Order 13636 and the cybersecurity framework published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  I also commend SIFMA for its more general focus on cybersecurity, and in working with other industry associations and government agencies on these issues.

Vestar Capital Partners To Acquire Institutional Shareholder Services From MSCI In $364 Million Transaction

Date 18/03/2014

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”), a leading provider of corporate governance solutions to the global financial community, today announced its parent company, MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), had entered into a definitive agreement with Vestar Capital Partners  (“Vestar“), pursuant to which Vestar has agreed to acquire ISS for $364 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.

Remarks To The 2014 Mutual Funds And Investment Management Conference, Norm Champ,SEC Director, Division Of Investment Management, Orlando, FL, March 17, 2014

Date 18/03/2014

Introduction

Thank you, Paul, for that kind introduction. Good morning everyone and before I begin, let me remind you that the views I express are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission, any of the Commissioners, or any other colleague on the staff of the Commission.

ISDA Publishes The First Clearing Member Reliance Opinions

Date 18/03/2014

ISDA has today published the first two clearing member reliance opinions for the Cayman Islands and Denmark. A number of other clearing member and client reliance opinions will be published in due course.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman Calls For New Efforts To Eliminate Unfair Advantages Provided By Trading Venues To High-Frequency Traders - Speech Highlights Need For Tougher Oversight Of Services, Including Co-Location Of High-Frequency Traders’ Computers Inside Exchanges; Direct Feeds To Data Centers - High-Speed Switches And Cables - Schneiderman: "We Will Continue To Shine A Light On Unseemly Practices That Cater To High-Frequency Traders At The Expense Of Other Investors, And Other Forms Of Insider Trading 2.0"

Date 18/03/2014

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today called for tougher regulations and market reforms intended to eliminate the unfair advantages commonly provided to high-frequency trading firms at the expense of other investors.  During remarks at a symposium hosted by New York Law School – “Insider Trading 2.0 – A New Initiative to Crack Down on Predatory Practices” – Attorney General Schneiderman detailed a number of services that trading venues offer to high-frequency traders and the damaging impact of those services on the rest of the market.

CFTC Orders Sean R. Stropp To Pay $250,000 Penalty To Settle Charges Of Making False And Misleading Statements During A CFTC Investigation

Date 18/03/2014

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an Order filing and settling charges against Sean R. Stropp (Stropp), formerly of Jupiter, Florida. Stropp is ordered to pay a $250,000 civil monetary penalty for making false and misleading statements of material fact, and omitting material facts, to CFTC staff during a CFTC Division of Enforcement (DOE) investigation. The Order enforces the false statements provision of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), which was added by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

SEC And FINRA To Hold Regional Compliance Outreach Programs For Broker-Dealers

Date 18/03/2014

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced the opening of registration for the regional compliance outreach programs for broker-dealers that will take place in Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, and New York, beginning in the spring.

MEPs Discuss Bank Supervision And Resolution With Daniele Nouy

Date 18/03/2014

Work on setting up the EU's bank supervisor and undertaking the planned asset quality review is "well on track", ECB bank supervisor chair Daniele Nouy told the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Tuesday. Legislators on all sides now need to show willingness to compromise in order to agree on a mechanism for winding down banks that can deliver rapid and reliable decisions and mobilise credible and readily accessible funding, she added.

Finansinspektionen (FI) i- Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority - Does Not Grant Waivers From The Basel 1 Floor

Date 18/03/2014

Finansinspektionen (FI) does not consider it to be appropriate to grant banks the option of waivers from the so-called Basel 1 floor. FI wishes to continue ensuring that the banking system is sufficiently resilient, which safeguards financial stability.

FINRA And BATS Order Citigroup Global Markets Inc. To Pay $1.1 Million For Illegal Short Selling In Advance Of Five Public Offerings And For Related Supervisory Violations - Sanctions Include $559,000 In Fines, More Than $538,000 In Disgorgement

Date 18/03/2014

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and BATS Exchange1, Inc. announced today that they have jointly ordered Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to pay approximately $1.1 million in connection with short selling ahead of participating in five public offerings of securities, in violation of Rule 105 of Regulation M. The payments include the disgorgement of more than $538,000, plus interest, of profits and improper financial benefits, and approximately $559,000 in fines. Citigroup also violated supervisory requirements related to Rule 105; and as part of the sanction, the firm was ordered to update its written supervisory procedures for Rule 105 compliance.