On March 16, 2018, in a split decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the DOL’s fiduciary rule. The Court held that the DOL exceeded its statutory authority under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The judges took aim at one of the rule’s key provisions: the best interest contract exemption, which…
Author: Bond Dealers of America
Legislative Update: Senate Approves Financial Regulatory Reform Bill
After weeks of debate and discussion over 100 amendments, yesterday the Senate passed a financial reform bill by a vote of 67-31. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155) makes bipartisan changes to the Dodd-Frank Act that will right-size post-crisis rules that were imposed on small and regional lenders after the…
BDA Advocacy 1st Quarter – 2018
Federal Regulatory and Legislative Priorities FINRA Rule 4210 In 2016, the BDA was successful in getting FINRA and SEC to file a last-minute amendment to the rule that significantly expanded the “gross open position” exception from $2.5 million to $10 million. BDA had advocated for a more expansive gross open position limit throughout the…
Overview of FINRA Rule 4210
Background In October 2015, FINRA filed proposed amendments with the SEC to Rule 4210. The Amendments were approved by the SEC in August 2016, and will require U.S. registered broker-dealers to collect daily variation margin and, in some cases, initial margin, from their customers on specified transactions. These margin requirements will apply to “Covered Agency…
2018 BDA Tax Reform Update
BDA’s 10 Year Anniversary is Highlighted in Politico
BDA Submits Comment Letter: MSRB Seeks to Establish Rule for Municipal Advisors and Update Dealer Standards on Advertising
On February 28, 2018, the BDA submitted a comment letter to the SEC in response to the MSRB’s proposed new rule, MSRB Rule G-40, on advertising by municipal advisors, and amendments to MSRB Rule G-21, on advertising by municipal securities dealers. You can view our final comment letter here. BDA’s comment letter focuses on the following topics: The BDA…
Advance Refunding Legislation Announced in the House
On February 13, 2018, Representatives Randy Hutgren (R-IL), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) and Luke Messer (R-IN), with full support of the BDA, plan to introduce bipartisan legislation that would fully reinstate the advanced refunding of municipal bonds. Background Municipal advanced refunding were repealed in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Groundwork was laid by the BDA…
White House Introduces Infrastructure Package that Expands PABs
On February 12, 2018, the Trump Administration released the highly anticipated infrastructure proposal. The plan, included in the FY 2019 budget request,calls for $200 billion in direct federal funding to leverage $1.5 trillion in private investment. In what will cause heartburn on Capitol Hill, the Administrations budget calls for the elimination of popular transit programs…