Regulation

The Obama administration will not make its Jan. 31st deadline for proposing reforms to the government-sponsored enterprises, an administration official said Monday.

The SEC’s recommendation didn’t lay out a timeline or a framework, but now the ball is in motion, observers say.

A study released by the Securities and Exchange Commission Saturday has recommended that a single fiduciary standard be created for brokers and investment advisers.

The much-anticipated study found that many investors are confused about the roles of brokers and advisors and are unsure of their protections when they receive advice. The study recommended a new standard would simplify the client experience.

Is this really no big deal for bank advisors?

The number of securities lawsuits filed in 2010 increased, despite a drop in new suits related to the credit crisis, according to a new report.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged three New York-based investment firms and four former senior officers with fraud, misuse of client assets and other securities laws violations, when they masked financial troubles within their $66 million advisory business.

Commission says FINRA is Congress’ best bet for policing advisors.

WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured and fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. $500,000 for failing to establish and maintain written supervisory procedures to ensure that its representatives considered customers’ state income-tax benefits in their suitability analyses of 529 college saving plans.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has fined BNY Mellon $24 million and has banned a former manager of institutional trading at Mellon Securities from associating with any broker-dealer firm after carrying out what it called an “eight-year best execution fraud.”