The Trump administration has provided few specifics regarding its plans for financial regulatory reform. But Republican control of the executive and legislative branches of the federal government should create a favorable...more
1/31/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Deregulation ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Glass-Steagall Act ,
Mergers ,
Trump Administration ,
Volcker Rule
On January 13, 2017, President Obama and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the interim lifting of sanctions on Sudan, with a path to a permanent revocation of sanctions in six...more
1/19/2017
/ Barack Obama ,
Darfur ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
ITAR ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Revocation ,
State Sponsors of Terrorism ,
Sudan
On December 22, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced amendments to the general license (GL) that authorizes the export or re-export of certain medical devices to Iran....more
On December 2, 2016, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced its willingness to entertain applications from financial technology (fintech) companies for special purpose national bank charters. In recent...more
On October 14, 2016, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced further amendments to ease U.S. sanctions and...more
10/28/2016
/ Aviation Industry ,
Barack Obama ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cuba ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Licenses ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Imports ,
International Travel ,
Medical Research ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry
After nearly two decades, the United States has formally ended economic sanctions on Burma (Myanmar). Citing substantial efforts undertaken to promote democracy, President Barack Obama issued an executive order, on October 7,...more
10/15/2016
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Barack Obama ,
Burma ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Patriot Act ,
SDN List ,
US Department of State
New York state has proposed a new regulation — to go into effect January 1, 2017 — that would require banks, insurance companies and other financial services institutions regulated by the New York State Department of...more
9/15/2016
/ Banks ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Comment Period ,
Covered Entities ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Data Retention ,
Financial Institutions ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Hackers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management
Financial institutions operating in New York — including New York state licensed banks, trust companies, private bankers, savings banks, savings and loan associations, branches of foreign banks, check cashers, and money...more
In response to Burma’s peaceful and competitive elections in November 2015, on May 18, 2016, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) further eased U.S. sanctions against Burma (Myanmar). These...more
5/24/2016
/ Burma ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Investment ,
General Licenses ,
Myanmar ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
SDN List ,
State-Owned Enterprises
In the wake of the Panama Papers controversy, the U.S. government has taken major steps this month to promote financial transparency. First, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) finalized its proposed rule issued...more
5/17/2016
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ownership Requirements ,
Popular ,
Transparency ,
White Collar Crimes
On March 31, 2016, the U.K. launched the new Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) within HM Treasury. OFSI, which assumes the financial sanctions responsibilities previously carried out by HM Treasury’s Asset...more
On March 15, 2016, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced regulatory amendments that further eased U.S....more
On January 27, 2016, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) further eased U.S. sanctions and export control regulations...more
On January 16, 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency verified that Iran had complied with the nuclear-related technical aspects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action it had to complete before the first phase of...more
1/28/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Foreign Entities ,
IAEA ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
SDN List
While economic sanctions against Iran, Russia and Cuba have dominated the headlines over the past year, sanctions remain a dynamic component of U.S. foreign policy on other fronts. In 2015, President Barack Obama issued three...more
1/23/2016
/ Burundi ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cuba ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Human Rights ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Obama Administration ,
Russia ,
Venezuela
Editor’s note: This article includes news developments through January 18, 2016.
The historic agreement that the P5+1 (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia and Germany) and the European Union...more
Last year, financial institutions continued to settle in record numbers with federal and state criminal and civil authorities in areas including benchmark interest rate manipulation, economic sanctions and anti-money...more
Virtual currency businesses saw increased oversight by U.S. regulators in 2015, and continued interest by federal and state authorities is expected as regulation evolves. Two recent developments in this arena are particularly...more
This issue of Skadden’s semiannual Cross-Border Investigations Update takes a close look at recent cases and enforcement trends, including developments in U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement; the introduction of...more
11/4/2015
/ Accomplice Liability ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Asia ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Bribery ,
China ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cross-Border ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Government Investigations ,
India ,
Internal Investigations ,
Libor ,
Market Manipulation ,
Non-Resident Aliens ,
OECD ,
Public Officials ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
South Korea ,
Tax Evasion ,
Thailand ,
UK ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Work-Product Doctrine
Two years ago, the U.S. banking industry was a rare exception to the trend of increased shareholder activism that was prevalent across industries. At the time, Skadden partners Brian Christiansen, David Ingles, Sven Mickisch...more
On September 21, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended their respective Cuba regulations to...more
9/30/2015
/ Airlines ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cuba ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Information Technology ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Physical Presence Test ,
Sanctions ,
Telecommunications ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Vessels
On August 25, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) that would impose certain anti-money laundering (“AML”) requirements on...more
9/11/2015
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Know Your Customers ,
NPRM ,
OCIE ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
U.S. Treasury
Editor’s note: This article was updated on July 23, 2015, to Editor’s note: This article was updated on July 23, 2015, to reflect certain additional information in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231.
On July 14, 2015,...more
7/21/2015
/ Aircraft ,
Aircraft Equipment ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Crude Oil ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Implementation Day ,
Imports ,
International Atomic Energy Agency ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Metals ,
Non-US Entities ,
Nuclear Power ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
P5+1 Nations ,
SDN List ,
Shipping ,
Software ,
Transition Day ,
United Nations
On April 1, 2015, President Barack Obama issued an executive order (the Order) authorizing sanctions against foreign individuals or entities found to be responsible for certain malicious cyberattacks. Under the Order, the...more
Following closely on the heels of the reinstated reporting requirements for inbound and outbound direct investment involving U.S. entities, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has announced...more