News Centre

Pension Review Board Committee Favors Shorter Vesting Over Retention Goals, By Joe Gimenez, TEXPERS Public Relations Consultant

Date 16/05/2018

A Pension Review Board committee charged with recommending features for benefit plans has drafted a “retirement security” design that mostly ignores employer retention goals.

Cboe Conducts May Settlement Of Cboe Bitcoin Futures

Date 16/05/2018

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE | Nasdaq: CBOE), one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies, today announced the settlement of the May expiry Cboe bitcoin (XBT) futures, the fifth contract settlement conducted since the contract was introduced last December.

Oversight Of The SEC’s Division Of Enforcement, Stephanie Avakian And Steven Peikin, Co-Directors, Division Of Enforcement, Washington D.C., May 16, 2018, Before The United States House Of Representatives, Committee On Financial Services, Subcommittee On Capital Markets, Securities, And Investment

Date 16/05/2018

Chairman Huizenga, Ranking Member Maloney, and Members of the Subcommittee:  

Thank you for inviting us to testify today on behalf of the Division of Enforcement (“Enforcement” or the “Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”).

The Division of Enforcement plays an essential role in carrying out the SEC’s mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.  The Division primarily supports the SEC’s mission by investigating and bringing actions against those who violate the federal securities laws.  By vigorously enforcing these laws, the Division furthers the Commission’s efforts to deter, detect, and punish wrongdoing in the financial markets, compensate harmed investors, and—critically—maintain investor confidence in the integrity and fairness of our markets.

Split To Restructure Equity Market, By Kelvin To, Founder And President Of Data Boiler Technologies

Date 16/05/2018

The SEC's access fee pilot is a very big deal in restructuring the equity market. Huge profits are at stake for trading platforms, market makers and many, shall the rule be skewed one way or another. 

CFTC Swaps Report Update

Date 16/05/2018

CFTC's Weekly Swaps Report has been updated, and is now available.

FINRA Fines ICBCFS $5.3 Million For Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Deficiencies And Other Violations

Date 16/05/2018

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Financial Services LLC (ICBCFS) $5.3 million for systemic anti-money laundering (AML) compliance failures, including its failure to have a reasonable AML program in place to monitor and detect suspicious transactions, as well as other violations, including financial, recordkeeping, and operational violations. 

SIFMA President And CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. Remarks At SIFMA’s Canada-U.S. Securities Summit

Date 16/05/2018

Good morning. I’m Ken Bentsen, president and CEO of SIFMA. Along with our colleagues at the Investment Industry Association of Canada, we welcome you to today’s Canada-U.S. Securities Summit. Ian, thanks to you and your staff at IIAC for jointly hosting this Summit with us for the sixth time.

SEC Charges Three Former Healthcare Executives With Fraud

Date 16/05/2018

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against three former Constellation Healthcare Technologies Inc. executives who falsified financial and other information they provided to a private firm in the course of negotiating the private firm’s acquisition of a majority stake in Constellation. Houston-based Constellation filed for bankruptcy in March, a little more than a year after the January 2017 acquisition.

CFTC Staff Issues Report Assessing Market Impacts Of LNG - The Report Summarizes Key Factors And How The LNG Market Outlook Has Evolved

Date 16/05/2018

Staff of the Market Intelligence Branch of the Division of Market Oversight of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued a report assessing the market impacts from expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade and exports.  In 2016, the U.S. transitioned from being a net importer to a net exporter of LNG.  In aggregate, U.S. LNG export plants in operation and under construction have a capacity of 10 Bcf/day, which is about 13% of current U.S. dry production.  The report synthesizes public source evaluations of the impact of LNG market changes.  The report attempts to summarize key factors and how the LNG market outlook has evolved; it does not attempt to offer any views or opinions.  

Trust Everyone--But Brand Your Cattle: Finding The Right Balance In Cross-Border Resolution, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman For Supervision Randal K. Quarles, At "Ring-Fencing The Global Banking System: The Shift Towards Financial Regulatory Protectionism" Symposium Sponsored By Harvard Law School Program On International Financial Systems, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Date 16/05/2018

Thank you to Professor Scott for inviting me to join this discussion on cross-border resolution and risks of fragmentation. Like many of my international counterparts in the audience, I maintain a deep commitment to cross-border banking and efficient movement of capital and liquidity, which are important contributors to long-term economic growth. And it is with that commitment in mind that I have considered the topic of today's conference: "ring-fencing," beginning with some reflections on what the term means. Many here use the term to describe local capital and liquidity requirements, which are imposed ex ante on local subsidiaries and designed to protect those entities and their creditors from losses. The term is also used to refer to disruptive actions taken by host regulators to seize assets in the moment of crisis.1 This type of ring-fencing occurs suddenly and unilaterally.