Law and regulation

After nearly a month of delays, the Senate was expected to pass a bill late Wednesday that would create a $30 billion small-business lending fund.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun to seek comment on the fiduciary standard of care that broker-dealers and investment advisers are to provide customers in giving advice about investing in securities.

If the administration was looking to the more than 300 public comments for guidance in crafting a future for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it better have a Plan B.

Investors being duped into pouring tens of millions of dollars into fake high-yield opportunities being touted all over the social mediascape.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is wrestling with how much it needs to increase its staff, technological capability, and funds to implement provisions of the new financial regulatory reform law that require it to make the most expansive changes since its creation in 1975.

International banking regulators said Monday they reached broad agreement on the overarching principles that will shape capital requirements and liquidity rules for banks in the coming years.

The legislation by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., would establish a regulatory framework for covered bonds, including a regime to handle the failure of a bond issuer.

WASHINGTON-The mutual fund and brokerage industries are revisiting their sales loads structure following the Securities and Exchange Commission's unanimous decision last Wednesday to revamp the 12b-1 sales and distribution fees that have become so prevalent in the industry and to provide better disclosures of these charges to investors.

The Treasury Department unexpectedly announced it would not pick Julie Williams, the No. 2 at the OCC, to serve as acting head of the agency when John Dugan leaves next month.

The SEC follows up its proposal to whittle down 12b-1 fees with a plan to remake the Form ADV, Part 2. Emphasis on Plain English is back.

For as much press as the recent financial reform bill has received, the majority of financial advisors apparently are unaware of its importance.

Trades were made in UITs, closed-end and mutual funds by two Maryland brokers on behalf of 10 customers, FINRA charges.

As federal regulators begin implementing regulatory reform, at least one agency plans to step up its disclosure of private meetings with industry insiders.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is considering temporarily expanding its 15-member board, possibly by two to four members, as it transitions to majority-public membership by Oct. 1 to comply with the new financial regulatory reform law.

President Obama's signing of regulatory reform legislation Wednesday signaled the official end of a hard-fought legislative battle but just the beginning of the tougher task of implementing the new law.

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to propose limits on mutual fund distribution fees and provide more transparency for investors.

The regulator said the company made negligent misrepresentations related to subprime securitizations.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering holding five field hearings between September and January as part of a nationwide inquiry on the municipal market that is expected to lead to recommendations for statutory and regulatory changes to better protect investors.

New authority granted to the Federal Reserve by the Dodd-Frank Act embodies a significant change in the thinking about, and approach to, functional oversight.

In five years as comptroller of the currency, John Dugan did not draw the limelight shined on other regulators. But as he gets ready to depart, there is no shortage of opinions on his tenure.