On October 5th, the SEC published a staff report entitled “US Credit Markets: Interconnectedness and the Effects of the COVID-19 Economic Shock”. This report focuses on the origination, distribution, and secondary market flow of credit across the US credit markets. In addition, the report addresses the manner in which the related interconnections in the credit markets operated given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with releasing the report, SEC staff will host a roundtable on Interconnectedness and Risk in US Credit Markets to explore these and other related issues on the afternoon of October 14th.
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On September 23rd, the SEC voted to adopt revisions to its congressionally mandated whistleblower program rules. The 2010 addition of Section 21F to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 established the SEC’s whistleblower program, which authorizes the SEC to make monetary awards to eligible individuals who voluntarily provide original information about violations of the securities laws when it leads to successful SEC enforcement actions resulting in monetary sanctions over $1 million.
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On October 1st, FERC released the schedule for its open meetings for calendar year 2021. The open meetings are freely accessible by the public consistent with the Government in the Sunshine Act, and the contents of the meeting are posted on FERC’s website. Continue reading "FERC Releases Commission Open Meeting Schedule..." »

On September 28th, the SEC announced a new proposal to improve the operational transparency, system integrity, and regulatory oversight of alternative trading systems. These systems trade government securities and repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements on government securities. US government securities markets are among the most significant and liquid securities markets in the world. Including US Treasury securities and agency securities, government securities comprise more than half of the outstanding debt issuances in the US bond market. They therefore play a critical role in the US and global economies. During the latter half of 2019, the average daily trading volume in government securities was approximately $835 billion. In addition to seeking public opinion on regulating these markets, the SEC is also requesting comment on the regulatory framework for electronic platforms that trade corporate debt and municipal securities. Continue reading "SEC Proposes to Extend Regulations ATS and SCI..." »

On September 28th, the SEC announced that it will host an event on October 26th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm ET, which will bring together SEC staff and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for a roundtable that was announced in an earlier statement by the Staff Standards of Conduct Implementation Committee. The two groups will discuss initial observations following the June 30, 2020 compliance date for Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS. Continue reading "SEC to Host October 26 Virtual Roundtable on..." »

With the release of the new SEC fee rate table, the SEC changed the location of the table on their website. Because the software uses the location to download the fee rate table for use in calculating filing fees, the current version of the software will not be able to download the new fee rate table. Additionally, it does not detect that the fees are out of date because the old fee rate table is still available at the old location on the SEC’s website.

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