Ninth Circuit Denies Rehearing of Northstar v. Schwab. On April 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied the petition of Schwab Investments’ (Schwab) for rehearing and rehearing en banc in the case of...more
4/30/2015
/ 401k ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Convertible Debt ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Money Market Funds ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trustees
FINRA’s Retrospective Rule Review Process Continues. On April 16, FINRA announced that the FINRA Board of Governors had authorized FINRA to publish a regulatory notice requesting comment on proposed amendments to Rules 2210...more
4/23/2015
/ BlackRock ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Card Agreements ,
Cuba ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Quicken Loans ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFIs ,
Supervision
DOL Fiduciary Standard Proposal. The Department of Labor issued a notice of proposed rulemaking including a definition of the term “fiduciary,” a conflict of interest rule for retirement investments, new exemptions and...more
4/16/2015
/ Australia ,
Bank Holding Company ,
Capital Rules ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
NPRM ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC Acts to Protect Whistleblowers Against Restrictive Confidentiality Provisions. In a development that should send HR directors and general counsels to review their form confidentiality agreements, the SEC announced...more
4/9/2015
/ Asset Valuations ,
Collateralized Loan Obligations ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Iran Sanctions ,
KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Rule 21F ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subordination
FINRA Requests Comment on Current Membership Application Rules.
As part of its ongoing retrospective rule review process, FINRA has published, in Regulatory Notice 15-10, a request for comment on the effectiveness and...more
Focus on Fiduciary Standards. In February the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) issued a Report on the Effects of Conflicted Investment Advice on Retirement Savings. In its conclusion, the Report estimated the...more
SEC Focus on Disqualification Waivers. When negotiating a settlement of an SEC enforcement action against a registered financial services firm – or one that hopes one day to become registered – it is vital to consider the...more
3/19/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Disqualification ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Regulation A ,
Regulation D ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
SEC Spotlight on Broker-Dealer Supervision of Outside Business Activities of Registered Representatives.
In this issue we report on the SEC’s settled administrative proceedings against H.D. Vest Investment Securities,...more
Federal Regulators Address the Scope of the Marketing Restriction in the Volcker Rule SOTUS Exemption.
The federal regulatory agencies responsible for implementing the Volcker rule—The Federal Reserve Board, the...more
FDIC Study Shows Branch Banking Has Staying Power: Has your smartphone displaced your bank? According to an FDIC study released on February 19, traditional brick-and-mortar offices are maintaining their primacy, despite...more
2/26/2015
/ Advertising ,
Banks ,
Brokers ,
Compliance ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
FBAR ,
FDIC ,
Financial Analysts ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinCEN ,
Mobile Banking ,
NASD ,
OCC ,
Registered Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Impact of Regulation on Community Banks: Harvard Study and Senate Banking Committee Hearing Highlight Differing Views. FDIC Director of Risk Management Supervision Doreen Eberley testified last week before the Senate...more
2/19/2015
/ Alternative Investment Funds ,
Alternative Mutual Funds ,
Bad Actors ,
Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Pool ,
Community Banks ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Municipal Securities Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee
Editor’s Note -
FDIC Highlights Efforts to Provide Regulatory Relief for Community Banks: On February 10, 2015, Doreen Eberley, Director at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), testified before the U.S....more
2/12/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
BitLicense ,
Community Banks ,
FDIC ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Hedging ,
Nonbank Firms ,
NYDFS ,
Proxy Statements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee
Editor’s Note -
CFTC Commissioner Giancarlo Proposes “Pro-Reform Reconsideration” of the Swaps Trading Rules. On January 29, CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo published a whitepaper titled “Pro-Reform...more
The CFTC Exercises Expanded Jurisdiction Over Retail Transactions in Physical Commodities.
Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 amended the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) to add new authority over certain leveraged,...more
1/30/2015
/ Amended Legislation ,
CFTC ,
Class Action ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cuba ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Payment Systems ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Editor’s Note -
The Supreme Court Halts Challenge by Retailers to the Debit Card Interchange Fee Rules: On January 20, 2015, the Supreme Court denied certiorari to a challenge by retailers to debit card interchange fee...more
1/22/2015
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
CPOs ,
Debit Cards ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Interchange Fees ,
Investment Adviser ,
National Futures Association ,
Proxy Season ,
Retailers ,
S&P ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Shareholder Proposals
Editor’s Note -
Rich Matheny Comments on New Format of OFAC Sanctions List: On January 5, OFAC announced the release of a new format of its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List. With the new...more
1/15/2015
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
FDIC ,
FinCEN ,
Industry Examinations ,
Investment Adviser ,
No-Action Relief ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Transfer Agents
Editor’s Note:
FINRA Rulemaking: In this issue we report on three recent FINRA rule amendments. The first amends the NASD rule on the use of customer account statements to require that member firms use more accurate...more
1/8/2015
/ Amended Regulation ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
CPOs ,
Family Offices ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
NASD ,
NYSE ,
REIT ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Editor’s Note:
Spotlight on the Credit Risk Retention Rule: The OCC, Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, SEC, FHFA and HUD announced the adoption of a joint final rule (the Rule) to implement the credit risk retention...more
12/31/2014
/ Asset-Backed Securities ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Rules ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Risk Retention ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
Regulatory Developments -
SEC Proposes Changes to Exchange Act Registration Requirements to Implement JOBS Act Mandates -
The SEC announced that it is proposing rule amendments under the Securities Exchange Act...more
12/24/2014
/ Asset Management ,
Bitcoin ,
BitLicense ,
CPOs ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinCEN ,
FSOC ,
Investment Adviser ,
JOBS Act ,
MiFID ,
NFA ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Registration ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Volcker Rule ,
Year-End Planning
Amendment to Swaps Push-out Provision of Dodd-Frank: Section 630 of the recently passed Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (“Omnibus Spending Bill” – see p. 249) amends Section 716 of the Dodd-Frank...more
12/19/2014
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Asset Management ,
Bank Holding Company ,
Business Development Companies ,
Cuba ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
FBAR ,
Federal Reserve ,
FinCEN ,
Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Push-Out Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swaps ,
Toys R Us
Editor’s Note -
Spotlight on FINRA Retrospective Rule Review: On December 9, FINRA announced it had issued reports on its retrospective review of two groups of rules – a report on the rules on communications with the...more
12/11/2014
/ ACH Payments ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
CPOs ,
Examination Manual ,
FDIC ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Banks ,
Guidance Update ,
Information Reports ,
NACHA ,
NFA ,
OCC ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supervision ,
Transparency
The SEC’s Semiannual Regulatory Agenda. The Federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs posted the SEC’s most recent Semiannual Regulatory Agenda which, in compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, identifies...more
12/5/2014
/ Administrative Hearings ,
Brokers ,
CFTC ,
CPOs ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Disgorgement ,
HSBC ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prejudgment Interest ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business
Editor’s Note:
Spotlight on the FDIC: In a Financial Institutions Letter, FIL-56-2014, the FDIC announced additional guidance on its 1998 Statement of Policy on Applications for Deposit Insurance in a Q&A format on...more
11/26/2014
/ Annual Reports ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 15 ,
Citigroup ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
FDIC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreclosure ,
Guidance Update ,
NASD ,
NYSE ,
Regulation SCI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
FINRA Requests Comment on Proposed “Pay-to-Play” Rule -
FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 14-50 requesting comment on proposed “pay-to-play” and related rules that would regulate in a manner similar to Rule 206(4)-5 under...more
11/20/2014
/ Alternative Mutual Funds ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Crowdfunding ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retroactivity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Variable Insurance
The SEC first proposed a study of the fiduciary obligations of brokers and investment advisers as required by the Dodd-Frank Act in July 2010. The SEC still has not made a decision about the shape of a fiduciary rule for...more
11/13/2014
/ Bank Holding Company Act ,
Cybersecurity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ETMFs ,
Exemptive Relief ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
FFIEC ,
FinCEN ,
Leveraged Lending ,
Money Services Business ,
OCC ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)