On June 17, 2025, the Senate voted 68-30 with bi-partisan support to pass the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (“GENIUS Act”), which proposes the establishment of a federal framework for...more
In just under two weeks, the House of Representatives introduced, modified and passed the One Big, Beautiful Bill of 2025 (the “House Tax Bill”). This Memorandum addresses a new proposed tax on certain persons sending money...more
Effective as of April 8, 2025, the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has implemented a Data Security Program (the DSP) to address national security risks associated with the transfer of...more
5/6/2025
/ China ,
Compliance ,
Data Security ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Entities ,
International Data Transfers ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Russia
On March 3, 2025, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) withdrew its pending proposed rule on brokered deposits (the “Proposal”), originally published in the Federal Register on August 23, 2024. The Proposal,...more
On February 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission formally abandoned its enforcement action against Coinbase. ...more
3/5/2025
/ Coinbase ,
Compliance ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Howey ,
Investment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
During the past 12-18 months, we have noted a significant increase in the number of brokers underwriting share certificates issued by credit unions. It is vital for brokers in the credit union share certificate market to...more
1/16/2025
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Credit Unions ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
NCUA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
State and Local Government
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (“FinCEN’s”) beneficial ownership reporting rule, issued under the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA” and such rule, the “BOI Reporting Rule”) became effective as of January 1,...more
Seward & Kissel is reminding its clients about the SEC’s new proxy vote reporting requirements that are applicable to certain institutional investment managers. The Form N‑PX filing deadline is August 31, 2024....more
On August 7, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York permanently enjoined Ripple from future violations of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933—that is, from the unregistered offer and sale of...more
1. Introduction and Summary -
On July 30, 2024 – a mere 32 months after adopting a new regulatory framework for brokered deposits in December 2020 (the “Current Rules”) – the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”)...more
Memorandum to our Investment Management Clients and Friends -
The Quinquennial Report of Foreign-Resident Holdings of U.S. Securities (“TIC Form SHL”) is a benchmark report used by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to...more
In May 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted amendments to Form PF, the confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds, requiring, among other things,...more
On June 14, 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Morgan Stanley alleging a breach of its fiduciary duty to customers and unjust enrichment by, among...more
On May 16, 2024, the SEC amended Regulation S-P to impose new data privacy and security requirements on broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, investment companies (whether or not they are registered with the SEC),...more
5/24/2024
/ Breach Notification Rule ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Data Breach ,
Documentation ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Investment Companies ,
ISOs ,
Notice Requirements ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulation S-P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On February 13, 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Proposed Rule”) that would subject registered investment advisers (“RIAs”) and...more
3/8/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Closed-End Funds ,
Compliance ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Employee Training ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
Final Rules ,
FinCEN ,
Internal Controls ,
Mutual Funds ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Patriot Act ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Funds ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Travel Rule
Over the last several years credit unions have sought to raise funds in the capital markets by issuing their Share Certificates through brokers or other intermediaries. Credit union shares have many of the same attributes of...more
As described in our previous client memo in May 2022, the FDIC is amending its regulations governing deposit insurance to merge the revocable and irrevocable trust deposit insurance categories into one “trust accounts”...more
Risk Trend -
This risk alert highlights a recent trend of criminals using fraudulent wire transfer schemes to target financial institutions and the steps that clients can take to mitigate this increasing risk. We have...more
On October 27, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) adopted a final rule (“Final Rule”) to amend the Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information (the “Safeguards Rule”). Among other things, the Final Rule will...more
11/13/2023
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Federal Register ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FinTech ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Investment Adviser ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Notification Requirements ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Rules ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In the early morning hours of Monday, May 1, 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed First Republic Bank (“FRB”) and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) receiver...more
Last week, the SEC took dead aim at Coinbase. This week, the CFTC did the same to Binance and its ubiquitous boss popularly known as CZ.
On March 27, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) filed a civil...more
...On March 22, 2023, Coinbase, Inc. received a Wells notice from the SEC.
A Wells notice is the means by which the staff of the Enforcement Division informs someone it has decided to recommend the Commission bring an...more
As with any business, a bank can become insolvent. But unlike most businesses, your bank holds your money or your customers’ money, making insolvency particularly fraught. On Friday, March 10, 2023, the California Department...more
3/13/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Deposit Accounts ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Depository Institutions ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Institutions ,
Insolvency ,
Receivership ,
Silicon Valley ,
U.S. Treasury
DOJ Promotes Compliance Through Compensation and Clawback Programs (3.2.2023):
• The DOJ announced corporate criminal resolutions will now include a requirement that companies implement a compensation and bonus scheme...more
3/10/2023
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Bank Fraud ,
CFTC ,
Clawbacks ,
Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
As with any business, a bank can become insolvent. But unlike most businesses, your bank holds your money or your customers’ money, making insolvency particularly fraught. In recent days, the parent corporation of Silvergate...more