The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) published five administrative rulings (collectively, the “Rulings,” and each a “Ruling”) concerning the applicability of certain exemptions from money transmitter status to...more
On May 2, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2014-33 (the “Notice”) providing that calendar years 2014 and 2015 will be regarded as a transition period for purposes of IRS enforcement and administration...more
The SEC issued a release proposing recordkeeping, reporting, and notification requirements for security-based swap dealers (“SBSDs”) and major security-based swap participants (“MSBSPs”). Although described as seeking to...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (the “Staff”) issued IM Guidance Update No. 2014-5, which provides guidance on responding to selected items in Form N-8F, the from used to apply for deregistration...more
The OCC proposed to increase assessments for national banks and federal savings associations with assets of more than $40 billion. The proposal would not increase assessments for national banks and federal savings...more
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (the “CSBS”), through its Emerging Payments Task Force (the “Task Force”), and the North American Securities Administrators Association (the “NASAA”) released Model State Consumer and...more
The SEC settled administrative proceedings against Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. (the “Adviser”) over its failure to grant advisory fee breakpoint discounts to certain advisory clients based on the aggregation of...more
The staff of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert discussing its initiative to assess cybersecurity preparedness in the securities industry. The initiative, which will...more
On April 10, 2014, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry presented remarks concerning risk management and related corporate governance issues before the American Bankers Association Risk Management Forum. Comptroller...more
On April 15, 2013, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “Basel Committee”) issued final rules (the “Final Rules”) concerning the supervisory framework for measuring and controlling large exposures, setting tighter...more
On April 8, 2014, the FRB, FDIC and OCC (collectively, the “Agencies”) released a final rule (the “Final Rule”) concerning the leverage ratio standards for large, interconnected U.S. banking organizations. The Final Rule...more
On April 10, 2014, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“FFIEC”), whose members are the FRB, FDIC, OCC, NCUA, CFPB and the State Liaison Committee (the “Financial Regulators”), issued an alert (the “Alert”)...more
4/17/2014
As part of an assessment of selected rules and related administrative processes, FINRA has issued Regulatory Notice14-15 and Regulatory Notice14-14 seeking public comment on the effectiveness and efficiency of its (a) Gifts...more
The CFTC’s Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (the “Division”) issued an interpretive letter regarding the auditor independence standards included in CFTC Regulation 1.16, specifically as it applies to...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (the “Staff”) issued IM Guidance Update No. 2014-4 discussing how a registered adviser or its investment advisory representatives (“IARs”) may use public commentary...more
The SEC issued a release reopening the comment period on proposed amendments (the “Proposed Amendments”) to Rule 482 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Rule 34b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as...more
On April 2, 2014 the members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“FFIEC”) issued two joint statements: the first joint statement regards distributed denial-of-service (“DDoS”) attacks, and the second...more
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “Basel Committee”) of the Bank for International Settlements issued a revised set of guidelines (the “Guidelines”) concerning the external audits of banks. The Basel Committee...more
The SEC extended until April 28, 2014 the comment periods previously re-opened on its rule proposals regarding asset-backed securities described in the releases entitled “Asset-Backed Securities” (the “2010 Release”) and...more
The SEC staff has made available as a supplement to its June 2013 money market fund reform proposal (discussed in the June 11, 2013 Financial Services Alert) the following analyses of data and academic literature related to...more
FinCEN issued an advisory (the “Advisory”) regarding the issuance by the Financial Action Task Force (the “FATF”) of an updated list of jurisdictions that the FATF has identified as having strategic deficiencies in their...more
The FRB released the results of its annual large bank holding company capital assessment exercise known as the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (“CCAR”). The FRB evaluated the capital adequacy and planning processes...more
On March 21, 2014, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its decision in the highly anticipated case relating to debit card interchange and exclusivity, NACS v. Board of...more
The FRB released the summary results of the 2014 annual stress tests conducted by large financial institutions pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act. 30 banking organizations participated in the 2014 stress tests. The financial...more
In a speech presented to the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists on March 17, 2014, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry said that the OCC is seeing progress in terms of the priority that senior...more