ISE Announces Three New Board Members
June 10, 2013--The International Securities Exchange (ISE) today announced the addition of three new members to its Board of Directors, and also announced six members were re-elected.
ISE’s Board of Directors consists of both industry and non-industry directors. Of the industry directors, each ISE exchange membership type is represented by two directors on the Board who serve two year terms. Patrick Hickey of Optiver US was elected to the Board as a director representing ISE’s Competitive Market Makers (CMMs). Elizabeth Martin of Goldman Sachs & Co. was elected to represent ISE’s Electronic Access Members (EAMs). Slade Winchester of Citigroup, who previously represented ISE’s EAMs and CMMs on the Board, was elected to serve as director on behalf of ISE’s Primary Market Makers (PMMs). In addition to these elections, Denis Medvedsek of Knight Capital Group was appointed as CMM Director to fill a vacancy.
BlackRock in Vanguard's debt for Credit Suisse deal approval
June 9, 2013--Vanguard's recent launch of exchange traded funds in Europe has helped BlackRock overcome a major barrier to acquiring Credit Suisse's ETF business, it has been revealed.
The US firm’s push has demonstrated that there is still room for new entrants in the European ETF market – coincidentally alleviating competitive concerns arising from iShares, BlackRock’s ETF unit, taking control of Credit Suisse ETF.
State Street files with the SEC
June 7, 2013--State Street has filed a application for exemptive relief with the SEC.
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DBX files with the SEC
June 7, 2013--DBX has filed a amended application for exemptive relief with the SEC-actively-managed ETFs.
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PowerShares files with the SEC
June 7, 2013--PowerShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the PowerShares Global Short Term High Yield Bond Portfolio.
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CFTC's Division of Clearing and Risk Issues Time-Limited No-Action Relief from Required Clearing for Swaps Entered into by Certain Cooperatives
June 7, 2013--The Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) today announced the issuance of a time-limited, no-action letter granting relief from required clearing under section 2(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act and
part 50 of the Commission’s regulations for certain swaps entered into by qualifying cooperatives.
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
June 7, 2013--The current reports for the week of June 4, 2013 are now available.
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CFTC's Division of Clearing and Risk Issues an Advisory Pertaining to the Effective Date of the Clearing Exemption for Swaps Between Certain Affiliated Entities
June 7, 2013--The Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an Advisory notifying market participants that the effective date of the final rule adopting the "Clearing Exemption for Swaps Between Certain Affiliated Entities"
has been automatically extended by operation of law, to June 18, 2013.
CBO-Monthly Budget Review for May 2013
June 7, 2013--The federal government ran a budget deficit of $627 billion from October 2012 through May 2013 (the first eight months of fiscal year 2013), according to CBO's estimates.
That amount is almost $220 billion less than the shortfall recorded during the same period last year, primarily because federal revenues have risen by 15 percent, while the government’s spending has risen by less than 1 percent. For fiscal year 2013 as a whole, according to CBO’s updated estimates based on current law (which were released last month), the deficit will total $642 billion.
view the CBO Monthly Budget Review for May 2013
H.R. 1341, Financial Competitive Act of 2013
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Financial Services on May 7, 2013
June 7, 2013--The Third Basel Accord, the latest in a series of international agreements among central banks and financial regulators to standardize capital requirements for banks, directs financial institutions to, among other things, set aside additional capital reserves to account for the risk that counterparties participating in certain derivative agreements could default on the transaction.
This additional capital requirement is known as the credit-value adjustment (CVA). H.R. 1341 would direct the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to complete a study of the likely effects that differences between the way the United States and foreign regulators implement the CVA would have on financial institutions, users of derivatives, and derivatives markets. The study would include, among other things, an examination of the effect those differences would have on the pricing and cost of derivatives as well as the competitiveness of United States derivatives markets. H.R. 1341 would direct the FSOC to prepare a report of its findings for the Congress within 90 days of the date of enactment of the bill.
U.S. SEC mulls streamlining launch of exchange-traded funds
June 6, 2013--The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will consider a proposal this year that would sweep away regulatory barriers to launching certain types of exchange-traded funds, a senior official said.
Norm Champ, director of the SEC's Division of Investment Management, told the Reuters Global Wealth Management Summit that a move to simplify procedures for approving "plain vanilla" ETFs would help the industry and the agency use its resources wisely.
SEC Renames Division Focusing On Economic and Risk Analysis
June 6, 2013--The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has changed the name of its Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation to better reflect its core responsibilities and focus. Starting today, it will be called the "Division of Economic and Risk Analysis."
The division was created in 2009 as the successor to three then-existing offices: the Office of Economic Analysis, Office of Risk Assessment, and Office of Interactive Data. These offices and other functions were combined to leverage expert staff and to provide sophisticated and data-driven economic and risk analyses to help inform the agency's policymaking, rulemaking, enforcement, and examinations.
AdvisorShares Announces the Closing of the Rockledge SectorSAM ETF (SSAM)
June 6, 2013--AdvisorShares, a leading sponsor of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced today that the AdvisorShares Rockledge SectorSAM ETF (NYSE Arca: SSAM) will be closed.
The AdvisorShares Board of Trustees approved the closing and subsequent liquidation of SSAM. Following its last day of trading on June 14, 2013, the ETF will cease operations, withdraw its assets, and distribute the remaining proceeds to shareholders on or after June 21, 2013.
Noah Hamman, CEO of AdvisorShares, said, "We carefully review the entire AdvisorShares actively managed ETF suite on an ongoing basis. After consulting with the Rockledge team, we determined that it was in the best interest of shareholders to close SSAM due to its performance and associated costs. As a leading innovator of actively managed ETFs, AdvisorShares remains steadfastly committed to providing a diversified line-up of alternative and core strategies to help investors realize their financial goals."
State Street files with the SEC
June 6, 2013--State Street has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC.
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ProShares Announces Two Senior Hires
Crucial Roles Support Firm's Expansion
June 6, 2013--ProShares announced today two key new hires: Ramesh Babu as chief technology officer and William Poulin as head of product management.
Both positions provide key support to ProShares' rapid expansion as a premier provider of alternative ETFs.
Mr. Babu, former chief technology officer, NY for Allianz Global Investors, is responsible for providing strategic direction and management of ProShares' technology infrastructure. He reports to Tim Coakley, chief financial officer.
Mr. Poulin, former head of product strategy and development for Columbia Management, is charged with product positioning and targeting, and ensuring product-related initiatives are prioritized and supported in an integrated fashion. He reports to Steve Cohen, managing director and head of strategy.