Regulation

The banking industry is scrambling to devise a new strategy to weaken the regulatory reform bill after Republicans failed to cut a bipartisan deal before the legislation advanced to the Senate floor Thursday.

The Insured Retirement Institute on Thursday sent a “broad, comprehensive” response to the request for information on lifetime income that the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Labor recently issued.

The SPARK Institute filed a comment letter Thursday on the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s proposed guidance on 401(k) investment advice. SPARK’s concern is Department of Labor’s attempt to define acceptable investment practices and theory, instead of leaving the decision on what type of advice to offer, be it computer- or adviser-based, to plan sponsors and administrators.

WASHINGTON—Although some of the “most profound” proposals in regulatory reform made during the wake of the economic collapse are now not likely to happen, Richard Ketchum, chairman and CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said Thursday that the financial services industry still has a responsibility to act aggressively at detecting fraud before it’s cleaning up the mess at the end.

Although some of the “most profound” proposals in regulatory reform made during the wake of the economic collapse are now not likely to happen, FINRA's Ketchum said the financial services industry has a responsibility to act aggressively at detecting fraud before it cleans up the mess at the end.

Most of the trades involved a single penny-stock company.

Sen. Kohl applauds DOL, SEC providing more information to employers and investors alike.

Bernie Madoff's legacy is still influencing the regulatory community.

WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department released interim guidance yesterday instructing municipal issuers how to issue four tax-credit bonds as direct-subsidy bonds, as was authorized by a jobs law enacted in March.

The Newsweek correspondent said “Obama is trying to rally populist sentiment against Wall Street."