FINRA filed with the SEC proposed amendments to FINRA Rule 2210, related to communications with the public, and FINRA Rule 2214, which sets forth requirements for the use of investment analysis tools (the “Amendments”). ...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management granted no-action relief from Section 15(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), that will permit a registered fund (the “Fund”) to enter...more
On March 11, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a proposed rule (the “Proposed Rule”) which would require employee benefit plan “covered service providers” (as defined in the 408(b)(2) disclosure regulation of the...more
The SEC has proposed standards for “covered clearing agencies,” which would include registered clearing agencies that (i) have been designated as systemically important by the Financial Stability Oversight Council and for...more
The CFTC has issued two separate no-action relief letters to provide time-limited no-action relief pertaining to swaps between certain affiliated counterparties. The letters both pertain to CFTC Regulation 50.52, which...more
In Regulatory Notice 14-09, FINRA requested public comment on a proposal to adopt a narrower set of rules (the “Proposed LCFB Rules”) for member firms that meet the definition of “limited corporate financing broker” (each, an...more
The OCC, FRB and FDIC (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued joint final guidance (the “Final Guidance”) concerning the Agencies’ key supervisory expectations regarding how medium-sized banking organizations--those with more...more
The CFTC’s Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued a Staff Advisory outlining recommended best practices for covered financial institutions to comply with Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued an IM Guidance Update concerning the aggregate advisory fee condition in the SEC’s “multi-manager” exemptive relief. (Under the terms of this relief, a...more
The FRB released a supervisory letter (the “Letter”) regarding the FRB’s applications process intended to provide financial institutions and the general public with a better understanding of the FRB’s approach to processing...more
On January 28, 2014, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (the “AWC”) from a member firm, Banorte-Ixe Securities International, Ltd. (the “Firm”), and...more
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) announced the publication of the 2014 Credit Derivatives Definitions (the “2014 Definitions”), which pertain to credit default swaps (“CDS”). The 2014 Definitions...more
The SEC re-opened the comment periods on its rule proposals regarding asset-backed securities described in the releases entitled “Asset-Backed Securities” (the “2010 Release”) and “Re-Proposal of Shelf Eligibility Conditions...more
On January 9, 2014, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) published a request for comments on a proposed new conduct rule for non-solicitor municipal advisors and amendments to existing books and records rules to...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management granted no-action relief from Section 17(e)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) to permit an affiliated securities lending agent to negotiate...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (the “Staff”) provided additional guidance (the “Guidance”) on the scope of the “knowledgeable employee” category of investors who may be disregarded in determining...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a Guidance Update discussing its position that a single proxy proposal to amend an investment company charter must be “unbundled” to provide a separate vote for...more
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) sent a letter to advisers that have not yet been examined by the SEC as part of an initiative to examine a significant percentage of them, with a focus on...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued guidance (the “Guidance”) to clarify FinCEN’s expectations as to how financial institutions (“FIs” and each an “FI”) will meet their compliance requirements under the...more
On February 4, 2014, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (the “AWC”) from a member firm (the “Firm”) and its former anti-money laundering (“AML”)...more
The FRB issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to repeal its regulation implementing the Truth in Savings Act, Regulation DD, and the regulation implementing the provisions of the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act protecting the privacy...more
The SEC settled public administrative proceedings against Navigator Money Management (the “Adviser”), a registered investment adviser, and its principal, Mark A. Grimaldi (the “Principal”), over advertisements in newsletters...more
On January 31, 2014, the SEC Division of Trading and Markets issued a no-action letter to Faith Colish and five other lawyers providing relief from broker-dealer registration for M&A Brokers engaged in activities related to...more
2/20/2014
The National Futures Association (the “NFA”) issued Notice I-14-06 providing guidance to its members regarding their Bylaw 1101 obligation to determine the CFTC registration and NFA membership status of persons with whom they...more
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) issued an update to its Mortgage Banking booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook, which was last updated in March 1996. The Mortgage Banking booklet generally provides...more