Securities and Exchange Commission 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under section 742(c) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank Act''), certain foreign exchange transactions with persons who are not ``eligible contract participants'' (commonly referred to as ``retail forex transactions,'' and as further defined below) with a registered broker or dealer (``broker-dealer'') will be prohibited as of July 16, 2011, in the absence of the Commission adopting a rule to allow such transactions under terms and conditions prescribed by the Commission. The Commission is adopting interim final temporary Rule 15b12-1T to allow a registered broker-dealer to engage in a retail forex business until July 16, 2012, provided that the broker-dealer complies with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act''), the rules and regulations thereunder, and the rules of the self-regulatory organization(s) of which the broker-dealer is a member (``SRO rules''), insofar as they are applicable to retail forex transactions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or ``Commission'') is adopting an interim final rule to amend Rule 19b-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act''). The amendment expands the list of categories that qualify for summary effectiveness under Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Exchange Act to include any matter effecting a change in an existing service of a clearing agency registered with the Commission (``Registered Clearing Agency'') that both primarily affects the futures clearing operations of the clearing agency with respect to futures that are not security futures and does not significantly affect any securities clearing operations of the clearing agency or any related rights or obligations of the clearing agency or persons using such service. The Commission also is making a corresponding technical modification to the General Instructions for Form 19b-4 under the Exchange Act. The amendments to Rule 19b-4 and Form 19b-4 are intended to streamline the rule filing process in areas involving certain activities concerning non-security products that may be subject to overlapping regulation as a result of, in part, certain provisions under Section 763(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (``Dodd-Frank Act'') that would deem some clearing agencies to be registered with the Commission as of July 16, 2011.