In this issue:

- FINRA Issues Annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter for 2014

- CFTC Makes Comparability Determinations for Substituted Compliance Purposes

- CFTC Issues No-Action Relief from Certain Swap Data Reporting Requirements

- CFTC Issues No-Action Relief Regarding Annual Reports by Chief Compliance Officers

- CFTC Extends Relief from Oral Communication Recording Requirement

- CFTC Issues Advisory Concerning Commodity Trading Advisors and Swaps

- Delaware Court Limits Section 220(d) Books and Records Inspections to Current Directors

- Seventh Circuit Remands to Correct a “Thoroughly Botched” Sentencing for a Fraudulent Commodity Pool Operator

- Agencies Appear to Signal Retreat on CDO TruPS Issue

- Excerpt from Agencies Appear to Signal Retreat on CDO TruPS Issue:

In the wake of the American Bankers Association’s lawsuit challenging the Volcker Rule’s treatment of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) backed by trust preferred securities (TruPS), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Agencies) have issued a statement which appears to signal that they are considering walking the rule back. The question is to what extent the Agencies will reverse themselves. The December 27 statement states in pertinent part as follows...