"If you're quiet, you're not living. You've got to be noisy and colorful and lively." --Mel Brooks, American filmmaker HOMEOWNERS, IT IS TIME TO GET NOISY!

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 SIGN UP FORWARD ARCHIVE ADVERTISE News on the capital markets, securities and financial industry   Morning Bell    Draft Volcker rule proposal reportedly allows portfolio approach to hedging Media stories have reported on new draft language for the Volcker rule. with changes centered on a broader definition of "hedging." The draft would allow banks to use hedging to cover risk on a "portfolio basis." Bankers have been urging regulators to rein in the rules, saying that "one-to-one" hedging would be very difficult. "We think the portfolio approach is the way to go," said Rob Toomey, managing director at SIFMA. Read the SIFMA comment letter. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (9/22), Reuters (9/21)       Has The Music Stopped Playing For The Musical Chairs Economy? Mixed U.S. economic data has left investors waiting to hear if the economy is heading toward recession. Download your free market outlook report for cross-market and cross-asset views from leading Standard & Poor’s market specialists.   Video View    Fed to buy longer-term bonds to spur economic recovery    Source: CNBC The Federal Reserve said it will sell short-term government debt and use the proceeds to buy $400 billion in long-term Treasurys. The Fed said it hoped its action would reduce interest rates for consumers and businesses.The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (9/21), The Washington Post (9/22), Bloomberg (9/21), CNBC (9/21)       SwapClear, the proven clearing platform for interest rate swaps since 1999, is available to buy-side clients as a fully compliant US FCM model. Learn why we're the safer choice at www.swapclear.com.   Industry News    Moody's downgrades credit ratings of BofA and Wells Fargo Moody's Investors Service cited a declining probability that the U.S. government will rescue major financial institutions as it downgraded the long-term credit ratings of Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Moody's also cut Citigroup's short-term rating. The government is "more likely now than during the financial crisis to allow a large bank to fail should it become financially troubled, as the risks of contagion become less acute," Moody's wrote. Bloomberg (9/21)       Independent muni advisers seek exemption from MSRB fees Market participants filed comment letters with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on a proposed survey of municipal bond advisers and an annual fee. Small, independent muni advisers want exemptions from the assessment, while dealers said the survey would be burdensome and expensive. SIFMA urged the MSRB to suspend "any further action" on the proposed survey. Read the SIFMA comment letter. The Bond Buyer (free content) (9/22)       Judge questions BofA's $8.5 billion settlement proposal A federal judge questioned Bank of New York Mellon's trustee duties in a proposed settlement related to mortgage-backed securities at Bank of America. The banks announced this year that they had had come to an agreement on behalf of MBS investors, but some of those investors have criticized the settlement. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (9/21),Bloomberg Businessweek (9/21), Reuters (9/21)       Lehman will forgo challenges against Barclays takeover Lehman Brothers Holdings said it would stop appealing a U.S. Bankruptcy Court ruling in February that upheld Barclays' 2008 purchase of the collapsed bank's North American operations. Lehman also said it would not appeal Judge James Peck's more recent decision that Barclays does not owe Lehman $500 million that was meant to go to employee bonuses. "We have determined that ... the resources of the court and the estate will be better employed at this point to move the bankruptcy towards a conclusion," Lehman said while noting that it does not agree with Peck's rulings. Reuters (9/22)       Editorial: Basel III rules aren't strong enough JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called the Basel III bank rules "anti-American," and suggested that the U.S. break from global regulators. "Dimon is absolutely right, but for the wrong reasons," according to this editorial. "The new banking rules, known as Basel III, are too weak, not too strong." Bloomberg Businessweek (9/21)       Other News Morgan Stanley says it plans to alter dark-pool operations Bloomberg (9/21)      Moody's raises ratings on collateralized loan obligations Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (9/21)      BNY Mellon exec raises questions about regulating innovation Securities Technology Monitor (9/21)      IBM Integrated Service Management solutions help control cost, enhance performance and increase security in the virtual environment.This white paper focuses on key capabilities for discovery, monitoring, capacity planning, provisioning, storage, security and financial management. Learn how to confidently maximize virtual investments with IBM Integrated Service Management.   Washington Roundup    SEC adviser takes aim at "mini flash crashes" Gregg Berman, a senior adviser at the Securities and Exchange Commission, said market-makers are not causing sudden price moves in the market, so such fluctuations should not be called "mini flash crashes." "My own observation and understanding of these events is they were generally not caused by a sudden withdraw of liquidity by market-makers," Berman said at SIFMA's Market Structure Conference. Reuters (9/21)       SEC to focus on data on derivatives and other products Matt Reed, assistant chief counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the agency will no longer act as a wholesaler of publicly disclosed data on financial products. Instead, the SEC will have an "enormous focus" on collecting data on credit default swaps and other derivatives and financial products. Securities Technology Monitor (9/21)       Other News Rep. Doggett calls on Bernanke to disclose bankers' pay American Banker (free registration) (9/21)      SIFMA: Your go-to resource for information on the Dodd-Frank Act How the Financial Services Sector Leverages Mainframe Solutions for Better Economics & Competitive Advantage IBM’s System z platform handles modern workloads and applications with superior performance and reliability. In this e-Book, IBM has captured real-world stories from over 60 System z customers. Read how customers are leveraging System z to meet their toughest IT challenges, with impressive results.   Operations Update    SWIFT to continue to issue business entity identifiers SWIFT said that although new global legal-entity identifiers are in the works, its business identification codes aren't going away. "We will continue to issue BICs in conjunction with LEIs and cross-reference the two ID codes," Paul Janssens, head of SWIFT's LEI project, said at the Sibos conference this week in Toronto. SIFMA's Tom Price was a panelist at Sibos discussing legal-entity identifiers. Learn more. Securities Technology Monitor (9/21)       Log Management Survey Report  In this survey report, find out how organizations like yours are improving security, compliance, IT operations, and more with log management. Learn why more and better data is needed; and what today’s top challenges and trends are in effectively capturing and analyzing log data. Download the whitepaper today.   Asset/Wealth Management Report  Cutting commissions doesn't help financial advisers keep clients Financial advisers who discounted commissions during the market downturn kept no more clients than those who stuck with their usual fees, according to a study by PriceMetrix. The advisers who lowered commissions had more trouble others in bringing commissions back up when the markets rebounded, the study found. InvestmentNews (free registration) (9/20)       3rd Annual Municipal Bond Summit Get ready for 2012 and discover everything you need to know about the new challenges facing the Municipal Bond industry. SIFMA’s 3rd Annual Municipal Bond Summit being held on Tuesday, September 27, 2011. Register Today.   SIFMA News  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn ... what industry regulations will social media users face? In the ever-changing world of electronic communication, SIFMA's Social Media Seminar will be your guide to the legal and compliance considerations that financial services firms must address when expanding their use of interactive technology for business purposes. Our dynamic program on Oct. 6 will include an in-depth discussion of the new FINRA regulations, implementation issues, compliant use of personal portable devices, litigation risks, and more. This seminar is for everyone in the social media realm, especially industry personnel in areas such legal and compliance, private client, and operations. Start following us on Twitter, thenregister for this event.      Join us next week and be a part of SIFMA's must-attend muni event of the year! Join us next week and be a part of SIFMA's must-attend muni event of the year! You still have time to join us for next week's Third Annual Municipal Bond Summit on Tuesday at the Marriott Marquis in New York. Don't miss your opportunity to hear from industry leaders and regulators on the challenges and issues affecting the municipal bond industry. Our informative and timely panels will give you the advantage you need to stay ahead of your competition and increase your organizations bottom-line! Featured panelists include George Friedlander, managing director, senior municipal bond strategist, Citi; Carol S. Kostik, deputy comptroller for public finance, City of New York; and Nancy E. Winkler, treasurer, City of Philadelphia. Panel topics include developments in the primary and secondary markets, the latest on investment advice, challenges in the retail market, and more. Register now.      Check out our new weekly SIFMA Dashboard Weekly news from Washington and Europe SIFMA Resources SIFMA.org  |  Advocacy  |  Educational Programs/Conferences  |  Newsroom Legislative and Regulatory Activity  |  Member Committees  |  Newsletters   Sponsored Content    Sharing Is Good Cameron Herold  Mergers And Acquisitions Is Making A Comeback Mike Periu  How To Stop Worrying And Start Selling Ivana Taylor  5 Ways To Get More From Your Employees Karlee Weinman  3 Ways Social Media Can Help You Show Up In Search Results TJ McCue    SmartQuote  If you're quiet, you're not living. You've got to be noisy and colorful and lively." --Mel Brooks, American filmmaker