FIF has set up a new Securities Lending Transparency Working Group. This Working Group will discuss and prepare a comment letter on the SEC’s November 18 rule proposal to create a new reporting system for securities lending. The reporting system, as proposed by the SEC, will apply to equities and bonds, including corporates, Treasuries, Agencies, asset and mortgage-backed securities, and municipal bonds. The next meeting for this Working Group is scheduled for Thursday December 16 at 11am ET. To subscribe to this group, please either update your profile or email us at fifinfo@fif.com.

Professor Jim Angel of the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business has graciously invited  the members of the FIF Securities Lending Transparency Working Group to a webinar hosted by the Georgetown University Center for Financial Markets and Policy on the SEC’s proposal for securities lending. The webinar will take place on Friday December 17 from 12-1 pm ET. To subscribe to the FIF Securities Lending Transparency Working Group, please either update your profile or email us at fifinfo@fif.com. In order to register for the webinar, please follow the link here. 

The FIF Front Office Committee will meet on Tuesday, December 14 at 11 am et to review applicable updates and notices from the SEC, FINRA, FINRA CAT and the equity and option exchanges.

On Wednesday December 15 at 10am ET, Alaina R. Clark, Assistant Director for Stakeholder Engagement at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), will present to a joint call of the FIF Cybersecurity and Compliance Working Groups. CISA is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. Ms. Clark will discuss the role and functions of CISA, CISA’s current areas of focus, recommendations for industry members on cybersecurity processes and management and reporting of cybersecurity incidents, and opportunities for enhanced cooperation between the industry and federal regulators.

The invite for this presentation has been sent to all members of the FIF Cybersecurity Working Group and the newly-created FIF Compliance Working Group. If you are interested in participating on this call and do not have the invite in your calendar, please update your profile and add yourself to either the Cybersecurity Working Group or the newly-formed Compliance Working Group. Alternatively, you can email fifinfo@fif.com to request an invite for this presentation.

On November 23, 2021, FINRA filed SR-FINRA-2021-029 with the SEC, “Proposed Rule Change to Amend FINRA Rule 6732 (Exemption from Trade Reporting Obligation for Certain Transactions on an Alternative Trading System)”. On December 1, 2021, FINRA filed SR-FINRA-2021-030 with the SEC, “Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change to Amend FINRA Rule 6730 to Require Members to Append Modifiers to Delayed Treasury Spot and Portfolio Trades When Reporting to TRACE.” FIF has scheduled the next call for the TRACE Working Group for Tuesday December 14 at 2pm ET to continue the Working Group discussion of these filings and to review a draft comment letter.