S.E.C. Competitors

The Commission represents and upholds the interests of the EU as a whole, and is independent of national governments. The European Commission prepares legislation for adoption by the Council (representing the member countries) and the Parliament (representing the citizens). It administers the budget and the policy programmes (agriculture, fisheries, research etc.) in cooperation with authorities in the member countries. Visit http://www.europa.eu/ if you want to learn more about the EU, or call the free service number 00 800 6789 10 11 from anywhere in the EU, they speak all 24 official languages. Disclaimer: The European Commission is working to ensure that social networks respect the highest standards of data protection. All users of social networks should be particularly careful about how they disclose their personal information and about how it may be used by third parties and the social network themselves. The presence of the European Commission on LinkedIn does not mean that we endorse or in any way agree with the privacy policy or practices of this professional social media network. Read more about our social media policy → europa.eu/!dyJq74

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. We regulate one critical part of the securities industry—brokerage firms doing business with the public in the United States. We carry out our mission by overseeing virtually every aspect of the brokerage industry. Every day, we work to: • write and enforce rules governing 3,900 firms and 635,000 brokers; • examine firms for compliance with those rules; • foster market transparency; and • inform the investing public. With 3,600 employees working in communities all across the nation, we are the first line of defense for investors.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) preserves and promotes public confidence in the U.S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks and thrift institutions for at least $250,000; by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to the deposit insurance funds; and by limiting the effect on the economy and the financial system when a bank or thrift institution fails. For policies and disclaimers visit: http://fdic.gov/about/policies/