FINRA's Ketchum calls for harmonization of rules
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Chairman and CEO Richard Ketchum called for investment advisers and brokers to be governed by the same set of rules as he highlighted regulatory shortcomings of the Securities and Exchange Commission. "If investors are to be protected, investment advisers need to be examined regularly and vigorously, it's as simple as that, and it is not happening under our current system," Ketchum said, hinting at FINRA's efforts to take over supervision of investment advisers. However, he said that's not a priority for FINRA right now. FINRA Vice President of Transparency Services Andrew Kagan is a featured speaker at SIFMA Operations Conference & Exhibit in Boca Raton, Fla. Register today. The Wall Street Journal (3/14)

Industry News

Minn. Gov. Dayton revises tax proposals
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton revised his two-year budget proposal in response to more sanguine revenue projections. Dayton's new proposal includes an increase in top earners' income tax -- which is expected to raise about $1.8 billion over two years -- but abandons state sales tax changes. Read the testimony of SIFMA's Nancy Donohoe Lancia regarding Minnesota's proposed tax on financial-service sales. The Bond Buyer (special access for readers of SIFMA SmartBrief) (3/14)

Canada's HFT curbs could serve as model, TMX head says
Over the past year, Canadian regulators have reined in some high-frequency trading practices and made other changes that have benefited market participants, said TMX Group CEO Tom Kloet. The changes could serve as a model for the U.S. and other nations interested in overhauling their markets, he said. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (3/14)

Analysis: Regulatory changes could hit bond liquidity
Individual investors continue to put money in bonds despite a rally in equities. However, bond investors could face a liquidity issue should the situation change, Richard Barley writes. Basel III rules have caused dealers to significantly pare back bond inventory, so if retail investors start exiting en masse, it is unclear who will emerge to buy those bonds. The Wall Street Journal (3/14)

Editorial: Critics of regulation gain ground
Stefan Ingves, chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, indicates that regulators might be gaining a better understanding of how regulation, intended to prevent crises, contributed to the financial crisis. Recent announcements from the Basel Committee signal a change in the regulatory tide, but officials have a long way to go, according to this editorial. The Wall Street Journal (3/15)

Washington Roundup

Court finds SEC doesn't have to turn over FINRA documents
A court ruled this week that documents relating to the Securities and Exchange Commission's oversight of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority do not need to be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act. "All the records relating to the SEC's examination reports -- including reports related to the administrative function of FINRA -- are exempt from disclosure under FOIA," U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell wrote in his decision. Reuters (3/14)

Congress works on tax-code overhaul
Bipartisan work on a comprehensive overhaul of U.S. tax law got under way in the Senate Finance Committee with Democrats and Republicans agreeing on one issue: The economy would benefit from eliminating tax breaks worth tens of billions of dollars, they said. They disagree, however, on what to do with the money saved. The Washington Post (3/14)

Panelists: "Too big to fail" concerns complicate Dodd-Frank reform
Some market participants, policymakers and other officials have been working to revise parts of the Dodd-Frank Act since it was enacted. However, a movement to tackle the issue of banks being "too big to fail" is complicating such efforts, according to panelists at an industry conference. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Finance (3/14)

Senate report raises concerns about bank's risk management
A Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report on JPMorgan Chase's derivatives-trading losses is critical of the bank's risk oversight and regulators that permitted the trades. The case "provides a startling and instructive case history of how synthetic credit derivatives have become a multibillion-dollar source of risk within the U.S. banking system," according to the report. CNBC (3/14), Reuters (3/14), The Wall Street Journal (3/14)

Commentary: SEC muni policing will continue
John C. Grugan and Tesia N. Stanley of Ballard Spahr write that the Securities and Exchange Commission's recent focus on municipal bond enforcement action likely will continue. The SEC brought actions in all five of its priority municipal securities enforcement areas in 2012, a trend that will likely persist no matter who is in charge of the agency, Grugan and Stanley write. The Bond Buyer (free content) (3/14)

SIFMA News

Speakers added -- SIFMA Ops: Marking 40 Years of Progress -- April 28-May 1 -- Boca Raton, Fla.
Ops 2013 offers a comprehensive and substantive program, tailored specifically for financial services operations professionals in a unique, three-day forum to explore pressing industry developments and build important relationships. For 40 years, SIFMA Ops has been the go-to resource for trusted, expert, up-to-date information about the financial services operations industry. At SIFMA Ops, operations professionals identify and streamline redundant and manual processes in a quest to continually enhance firm efficiency and performance.

GFMA Webinar: Global LEI Developments and Deadlines -- March 21 -- 8 a.m. EDT
SIFMA's global affiliate, GFMA, is hosting a webinar to help financial market participants prepare for the critical implementation of a global legal-entity identifier (LEI). Recently, there have been several important developments from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, other global regulators, and the LEI Regulatory Oversight Committee. Further, important deadlines under the CFTC's Swap Reporting and Recordkeeping rule are quickly approaching. Participate in this timely webinar to receive expert summary and analysis of the latest regulatory developments and initiatives.

SIFMA Ops & Tech Society CMS Dinner -- Margin & Lending in Firms -- March 21 -- NYC

Program available: SIFMA Tech 2013 -- speakers from the SEC, IBM, Cisco and more

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