CFPB Finalizes Rule Aimed at Improving Credit Card Agreement Submission Process

On April 15, the CFPB issued a final rule aimed at improving the way that companies submit consumer credit card agreements to the CFPB. Press Release.

SEC Adopts Updated EDGAR Filer Manual

On April 13, the SEC adopted revisions to EDGAR Filer Manual and related rules to reflect updates to the EDGAR system. The updates are being made primarily to support the 2015 US GAAP financial reporting and 2015 EXCH taxonomies; add new form types for registration of Security-based swap data repositories (SDR); revise the Form ID Application Confirmation screen; remove references to the Paper Form ID; and revise Item 1 on submission form type MA-A. Final Rule.

Federal Reserve Request Comment on Proposed Amendments to Regulation D

On April 13, the Federal Reserve Board requested public comment on proposed amendments to Regulation D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions) making technical changes to the calculation of interest payments on certain balances maintained by depository institutions at Federal Reserve Banks. The proposed amendments are a matter of prudent planning and have no implications for the near-term conduct of monetary policy. Release. Federal Register Notice.

On April 16, Fitch published a report on Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, PA. Release

Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Class Action Alleging That RBS Mislead Investors About RMBS Exposure

On April 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a putative investor class action against the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The plaintiffs had brought claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, alleging that RBS induced them into buying American Depository Shares (ADSs) of RBS between October 2007 and January 2009 by misrepresenting the scope of RBS's investment exposure to subprime mortgage-backed securities at that time.

The Second Circuit affirmed the District Court's dismissal on all grounds, holding that certain of the alleged misstatements could not serve as the basis for the investors' claims because they were made in August 2007, before the class period began, and that other alleged misstatements, concerning RBS's acquisition of Dutch Bank ABR AMRO, likewise could not sustain a claim because they constituted inactionable puffery. Opinion.

Delegated Regulation on RTS for Specification of Margin Periods of Risk Published in Official Journal

On April 16, the Commission Delegated Regulation (Regulation 2015/585) on regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the margin periods of risk (being the time period from the last exchange of collateral covering a netting set of transactions with a defaulting counterparty until that counterparty is closed out and the resulting market risk is re-hedged) used for the treatment of clearing members' exposures to clients under the Capital Requirements Regulation (Regulation 575/2013) (CRR) (dated April 15, 2015), was published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ).

European Commission Publishes Report on the Exercise of the Power to Adopt Delegated Acts Conferred on the Commission by Prospectus Directive

On April 13, the European Commission published a Report to the Council and the European Parliament on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of November 4, 2003 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (Prospectus Directive).

The Commission Report concludes that while the Commission believes that the delegation of powers to it has been crucial to further develop the single rulebook and therefore establish more harmonized, high quality rules, the Commission has not used some of those powers yet. The Commission Report in this context notes that the provisions concerned will also form part of the PD review required by Article 4 of the PD II, by January 1, 2016. The Commission therefore considers that the EP and the Council should not revoke those delegations of powers in accordance with Article 24b of the PD, as it may need to use those powers to adopt certain delegated acts in the future, in light of the developments on the financial markets.

EBA Updates Single Rulebook Q&As: April 10, 2015

On April 10, the European Banking Authority (EBA) updated its Q&As on the single rulebook, publishing four new questions relating to issues including credit risk, liquidity risk, transparency and Pillar 3, and large exposures.

ICMA Issues Updated Legal Opinions On GMRA

On April 9, the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) published the 2015 legal opinions on the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA), the principal standard agreement used to document repo transactions.

The updated legal opinions cover both the enforceability of the netting provisions of the GMRA and the validity of the GMRA as a whole. The opinions are available to ICMA members from the ICMA website