Rep. Peter King (R-NY), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, will soon introduce a bill to suspend enforcement of the Volker Rule until the Treasury Department can certify that other countries have adopted and are abiding by similar statutory restrictions on on proprietary trading and sponsoring hedge funds by financial institutions.  The U.S. Financial Services Global Viability Act specifically targets  the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Brazil, China, Canada, and Mexico as jurisdictions of concern.  The bill would require not just certification by the Treasury Department, but an opportunity for hearings and comments by interested parties. Under the legislation, these certifications could be challenged further in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  The proposed U.S. Financial Services Global Viability Act represents the latest effort by law makers and others to delay or repeal the Volker Rule amid concerns that the Volker restrictions would undermine U.S. competitiveness and damage market liquidity.

As Mark Twain famously said, "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." The same can be said for about the rumors of the death of money market reform, following the SEC's announcement that it's leaders could not reach consensus on the topic. Determined to resuscitate the initiative, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn)., a member of the Senate Banking Committee, penned a September 14, 2012 letter to the SEC urging the Commission to continue pursuit of money market fund reform to protect taxpayers from a potential bailout. Corker believes that, despite the differences of opinion on amongst the Commissioners, sufficient common ground exists to build on the initial money fund reform proposal from Chairman Mary Schapiro.

Mutual funds hold substantial power to influence corporate governance around the world.  In the United States alone, mutual funds own over a quarter of the outstanding shares of U.S. stocks. Clearly, this represents an enormous amount of the voting power. And, along with all this power comes great responsibility. How can funds vote these proxies effectively, that is, in the best interests of the funds and their shareholders?  The Mutual Fund Directors Forum, an educational organization for mutual fund independent directors, has released practical guidance to address how fund trustees and directors can exercise oversight of their proxy voting processes.