Law and regulation

As September draws to a close, we’ve rounded up the most popular stories of the month. Don’t miss the top five.

Two planners who are suing the CFP Board amended their complaint to seek unspecified damages in addition to earlier claims seeking an admission of fault from the board as well as the quashing of a public sanction for calling their practice fee-only.

Corporate-bond brokers may face a squeeze on profits as regulators start publishing prices for almost $1 trillion of privately sold debt, if the past is any guide.

SEC Chair Mary Jo White met with leaders of the equities and options exchanges, FINRA the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation and the Options Clearing Corporation following the August 22 interruption in the trading of NASDAQ-listed securities.

Significantly altered results now appear when users search for fee-only advisors.

While the coming fiscal debate looms in the background -- along with probable accompanying market volatility -- there are a number of other possible legislative and regulatory items that also affect the insurance and advisory industry.

The CFP Board extended a broad amnesty to hundreds of advisors who had been breaking its rules by calling themselves fee-only on the board’s website. The surprise move prompted calls for the board to reconsider and possibly rescind recent sanctions of other CFP holders for similar transgressions.

A complaint filed by the SEC accuses a former Merrill Lynch advisor and his client of making insider trades and hiding profits in offshore accounts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc, Credit Suisse Group AG and 10 other international lenders were sued by a U.S. credit union regulator alleging they illegally manipulated benchmark Libor interest rates.

The CFP Board’s strategy of punishing some certificate holders over compensation disclosure issues in what critics charge is an arbitrary manner threatens the future of the CFP designation, according to one of the early leaders of the board who also chaired its disciplinary commission.

Exclusive: Without any notice, ‘fee-only’ is replaced with ‘none provided’ on CFP holders’ profiles.

FINRA is pressing ahead with a controversial new rule that would require brokers to make disclosures about recruitment compensation they receive as an enticement to jump to a new firm.

Brokerages from Morgan Stanley to Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch poach salesmen from one another, offering bonuses based on how much revenue they produce. Now brokers receiving bonuses of at least $100,000 will be required to inform clients.

Exclusive: Widespread abuse of the term raises question of a disciplinary double-standard.

Seeking to end probes of a trading debacle that damaged its reputation for risk-management, JPMorgan agreed to pay about $920 million for failing to implement adequate controls and providing incomplete information to regulators and its board.

Wall Street banks, facing a drop in third-quarter trading revenue, are counting on today’s Federal Reserve announcement to spark a surge in volume.

Malvern Bancorp is being challenged by a pair of dissidents in a development that highlights investors' growing frustration with the banking industry's inability to put capital to work.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon told employees to prepare for more legal woes while the bank undertakes an “unprecedented effort” to comply with regulations.

Exclusive: Confusion over compensation disclosure again cited; board insists process is 'consistent, fair, credible.'

We often hear of the gender gap in politics, with women identifying more as Democrats. On public policy issues, women are more likely than men to favor an activist role for government in guaranteeing health care and basic social services while also being more supportive of gun control, same-sex marriage and legalized abortion.