It is hard to overstate the political and policy parallels between the recent UK “Brexit” vote to leave the European Union (“EU”) and the pending U.S. presidential election. Both cases reflect the significant tensions...more
As the nation continues to struggle with the retirement preparedness gap, policymakers are exploring proposals to require employers that do not offer retirement plans to automatically enroll employees in Individual Retirement...more
As the U.S. continues to grapple with the retirement preparedness gap, policymakers on both sides of the aisle are increasingly focused on facilitating access to retirement plans. In the last few years, policy proposals...more
On June 23, 2016, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) released as a “discussion draft” legislative text of the Financial CHOICE Act (“FCA”), a proposal to reform the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform...more
On June 15, 2016, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) released a more detailed summary of the Financial CHOICE Act (“FCA”), a proposal to revisit the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer...more
On June 7, 2016, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) released an executive summary of the Financial CHOICE Act (the “FCA”), his highly anticipated bill to revisit the Dodd-Frank Wall Street...more
6/17/2016
/ Basel III ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Depository Institutions ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
FSOC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFIs
In the face of controversy and following thousands of comments from market participants and lawmakers, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has finalized sweeping changes to the definition of “fiduciary” under the Employee...more
On February 1, 2016, K&L Gates LLP, The Washington Times and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce held a symposium entitled “Capitalism in the 21st Century.” The event explored emerging corporate governance considerations such as...more
This policy insight highlights some of the key political issues relating to the United Kingdom’s (UK) imminent referendum to decide whether to withdraw from the European Union (EU).
After weeks of discussions and...more
Since the Action Plan for a Capital Markets Union (“CMU”) was launched on 30 September 2015, the European Commission (“the Commission”) has initiated a number of CMU initiatives. Notably, building on the CMU’s initial...more
On February 10, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the European Commission (“EC”) announced a much-anticipated transatlantic agreement to harmonize European Union (“EU”) and U.S. regulations concerning...more
On 30 September, the European Commission released its Action Plan for a Capital Markets Union (the “Action Plan”). The Capital Markets Union (“CMU”) is one of the key elements of the broader Investment Plan for Europe...more
10/8/2015
/ Capital Markets ,
Capital Markets Union ,
Crowdfunding ,
Economic Action Plan ,
ELTIF ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
EuVECA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financing ,
Innovation ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Securitization ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
Solvency II ,
Startups
The 2008 credit crisis was the beginning of an era of unprecedented government management of the capital markets. July 21, 2015 marked the fifth anniversary of the hallmark congressional response, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street...more
8/19/2015
/ Capital Markets ,
Capital Markets Union ,
CFTC ,
Clawbacks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Derivatives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EU ,
EURIBOR ,
European Commission ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FSB ,
FSOC ,
G-SIFI ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Investors ,
IOSCO ,
Libor ,
Liquidity Coverage Ratio ,
Nonbank Firms ,
Obama Administration ,
Over The Counter Derivatives (OTC) ,
Popular ,
Proxy Access Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps
After almost five years of debate, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) is again trying to modify the ERISA definition of “fiduciary” as it relates to providing investment advice. On April 14, 2015, DOL re-proposed rules (the...more
On Wednesday, February 18, the European Commission (“EC”) launched its ambitious “Green Paper” consultation for the creation and completion of a European Union (“EU”)-wide Capital Markets Union (“CMU”). The release of the...more
For over four years after enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act (“Dodd-Frank”), President Obama and the Democratic Senate successfully blocked any changes to that act. For example, in the 113th Congress, the House passed 26 bills...more
1/26/2015
/ Dodd-Frank ,
Form 10-K ,
JOBS Act ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulation S-K ,
SBIC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
TRIA ,
Volcker Rule ,
XBRL Filing Requirements
As November draws closer, the financial services industry is staking out a front row seat in tracking the outcomes of the 2014 midterm elections. The 114th Congress’ legislative agenda in this area will be shaped in large...more
On June 5, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) voted to release its long-awaited proposals to make significant revisions to the rules governing money market mutual funds (“money funds”), as well as to adopt...more
After the fiscal cliff deal failed to include a framework for comprehensive tax reform, many in Washington predicted that the momentum for tax reform would wither away. Although Congress has many important issues on its...more
1/31/2013
/ American Taxpayer Relief Act ,
Bonds ,
Derivatives ,
Discussion Draft ,
FIFO ,
Financial Instruments ,
Fiscal Cliff ,
Harvesting Losses ,
Hedge Funds ,
Tax Reform ,
Ways and Means Committee
Momentum is building to reform the U.S. tax system and address the nation’s fiscal challenges. However, options to raise revenue to reduce the deficit and offset a potential decrease in corporate and individual tax rates are...more
During his first term, President Obama began an ambitious path of reforming the U.S. financial system with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). Over two years...more
On November 13, 2012, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the “FSOC”) unanimously approved the publication of several proposed recommendations for money market mutual fund (“MMMF”) reform (the “Proposed...more