Friday's Headlines: Come Financial Reform, Brokers May Be High on the SEC's Target List

SEC will impose fiduciary standard on brokers: Barney Frank [InvestmentNews]

As the financial reform bill edges closer to passage, it's looking more likely that brokers will be held to the same standard of care as investment advisers. The bill empowers the Securities and Exchange Commission to impose the same fiduciary standards on broker-dealers and insurance agents as currently used for investment advisers. The SEC could also require anyone providing personalized retail investment advice to act in the client's best interests and disclose any conflicts of interest.

Bank reform: Fake it 'til you makeit [Fortune]

Speaking of the SEC: Heidi Moore notes that much of the financial reform bill involves "dumping major decisions in the lap of the SEC, commissioning unnecessary studies, or otherwise creating more homework for regulators in the future." The end result: The bill "pushes many of its most important decisions until later, and in some cases leaves rule-making loopholes that could allow banks to delay major changes until 2022."

Mortgage Bonds Booming [WSJ]

Residential mortgage bonds are once again darlings of the financial market, increasingly seen as a safe haven from the roiling global economy.

Are these the real reasons why people are leaving Citi's investment banking business? [eFC-UK]

Citigroup has been suffering a fairly scary exodus of senior investment bankers, and things aren't getting much better.