On May 30, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Cantero v. Bank of America, vacating and remanding a decision by the Second Circuit that concluded that the federally authorized powers of national banks under...more
On June 6, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued a request for information (RFI) on the “uses, opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial services sector.” The RFI seeks...more
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently announced proposals to update their approaches to evaluating bank mergers and other business combinations under the Bank Merger...more
5/1/2024
/ Bank Merger Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Executive Orders ,
FDIC ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
NPRM ,
OCC ,
Policy Statement ,
Proposed Rules
On Sunday evening, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced measures to (1) prevent losses to all depositors — including all uninsured depositors — after...more
3/17/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Deposit Accounts ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Depository Institutions ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Insolvency ,
Receivership ,
Relief Measures ,
Silicon Valley ,
U.S. Treasury
On Sunday evening, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced measures to (1) prevent losses to all depositors—including all uninsured...more
3/14/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Deposit Accounts ,
Deposit Insurance ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Insolvency ,
Receivership ,
Relief Measures ,
Silicon Valley ,
U.S. Treasury
A flurry of activity on January 27 signaled continued skepticism from the Federal Reserve of crypto-asset-related activities generally and open, public or decentralized networks in particular....more
On January 23, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS or the Department) issued guidance clarifying its expectations for New York-based virtual currency businesses regarding the custody of customer assets...more
On January 3, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (FRB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Risks to Banking...more
1/9/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FRB ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
NYDFS ,
OCC ,
Prudential Standards ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Assessment
On March 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) announced a significant expansion of its “anti-discrimination efforts to combat discriminatory practices across the board in consumer finance.” Under...more
3/24/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Discrimination ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Examination Manual ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
UDAAP
Among the many important themes in his March 1, 2022, State of the Union address, President Joe Biden declared that “the watchdogs are back,” when he announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would appoint a Chief...more
On November 1, 2021, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) - along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) - published the Report on...more
11/16/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Exchange Rates ,
FDIC ,
FinCEN ,
FSOC ,
Information Reports ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OCC ,
Payment Systems ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has continued a spate of regulatory activity related to financial crimes compliance matters in the first year of the Biden Administration, recapped in its recent report...more
7/15/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Human Trafficking ,
No-Action Letters ,
Nonbank Firms ,
Ransomware ,
Significant Transnational Criminal Organization ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Virtual Currency
From June 2 to June 4, leading central bankers, policymakers, regulators, private sector CEOs, civil society members and academics gathered for the Green Swan 2021 Global Virtual Conference.
The conference was co-hosted...more
6/8/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
European Central Bank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Reporting ,
Insurance Industry ,
International Financial Reporting Standards ,
International Monetary Fund ,
Paris Agreement ,
Professional Conferences ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Sustainability ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
Transparency ,
United Nations
On May 20, President Biden issued his Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk (“Order”) which requires federal agencies to assess the potential impacts of climate change on public and private financial institutions...more
It is clear just a few weeks into the Biden administration that fair lending and racial equity will return as a central focus of regulators under President Joe Biden.
Biden issued a memorandum his first week in office...more
3/3/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Enforcement ,
Fair Lending ,
HUD ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Race Discrimination ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan
Anti-money laundering (“AML”) issues have been a focus of regulators and law enforcement for the past decade and will likely continue to be a priority issue area for the Biden Administration. The AML landscape is shifting...more
2/12/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
NDAA ,
Patriot Act ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
On December 17, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury (OCC); the Federal Reserve; and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require...more
12/22/2020
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Regulators ,
Banks ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Financial Institutions ,
GLBA Privacy ,
NPRM ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Two recent actions by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) - one enforcement action and one interpretive note - focus attention on the kinds of anti–money laundering (AML) controls needed for banks to custody...more
8/7/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Consent Order ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Custody ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
OCC
On June 29, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, slip op. No. 19-7. The decision resolves a long-disputed issue regarding the constitutionality of the structure...more
On March 27, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The $2 trillion stimulus package is the largest in American history and will make available hundreds of billions of...more
After days of intense negotiation, last night the Senate passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion stimulus package to respond to the economic fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19)...more
Today, the Federal Reserve Bank announced several unprecedented emergency measures, including unlimited purchases of Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities, three new lending facilities, and expansion of two programs...more
3/24/2020
/ Asset-Backed Securities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Facilities ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Federal Reserve ,
Liquidity ,
Money Market Funds ,
Mortgage-Backed Securities ,
Secondary Markets ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
State of Emergency
In a significant move to provide liquidity to U.S. corporations, the Federal Reserve Board announced today that it will establish a Commercial Paper Funding Facility (“CPFF2020”). The Federal Reserve’s action parallels its...more
In legislative language accompanying his proposed budget, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo proposes to significantly expand the powers of the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), the state’s banking and insurance...more
On October 31, 2019, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its long-awaited regulations governing hemp. Those regulations provide critical guidance to the hemp industry following the Agriculture Improvement Act of...more
11/15/2019
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Comment Period ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
DEA ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Interim Rule ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Marijuana ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
USDA