On April 17, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's ("CFTC") operating divisions ("Divisions") provided guidance in an advisory on the criteria they will use when determining whether to refer self-reported...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's ("CFTC") new enforcement advisory introduces several major changes in policy and a matrix helping those facing potential or actual CFTC investigations quantify the extent to which...more
President Trump signed an executive order ("EO") titled "Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology" that signals a radical shift in the federal government's posture towards digital assets and the...more
The Situation: On January 29, 2024, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") requested comment on a proposed rule updating its bank merger rules and incorporating a policy statement (the "Proposal") on agency...more
2/15/2024
/ Bank Merger Act ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Reviews ,
OCC ,
Policy Statement ,
Proposed Rules
The Situation: In October 2023, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC"), Federal Reserve System, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC," and the three agencies collectively, "Agencies") finalized...more
1/11/2024
/ Banks ,
Climate Change ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Final Guidance ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Joint Statements ,
OCC ,
Risk Management ,
Supervisory Guidance
In Short -
The Background: As voluntary carbon credits ("VCCs") have grown in popularity, questions about their integrity and quality have arisen for investors and among regulators and lawmakers. For this reason, many have...more
12/14/2023
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Carbon Pricing ,
CFTC ,
Derivatives ,
Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) ,
Energy Market ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Risk Management ,
SEFs
On November 7, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") issued a proposed rule that would grant it supervisory authority over major nonbank technology companies in the consumer digital payments space....more
11/16/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Credit Reports ,
Digital Wallets ,
Electronic Payment Transactions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Nonbank Firms ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority
Ruling concludes "unfairness" authority under the Dodd-Frank Act does not cover discrimination.
On September 8, 2023, a federal district court rejected the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ("CFPB") interpretation...more
In Short -
The Situation: Regulatory "sandboxes" are trending. They represent a unique approach to regulation that permits selected companies to test and experiment with new and innovative products and services....more
California's governor issued an executive order requiring state agencies, led by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, to create a "transparent" regulatory framework for blockchain technologies and digital...more
5/11/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
California ,
California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Framework Agreement ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Transparency Directive ,
Virtual Currency
On Monday, April 25, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") issued a press release announcing its intent to utilize a "dormant authority" under the Dodd-Frank Act to examine nonbank "'fintechs'" that the...more
ESG considerations will continue to play an ever-increasing role in financial markets in 2022. ESG-related transactions will continue to present significant opportunities for financial institutions as they respond to and...more
President Biden's executive order calls for "whole-of-government" approach to studying risks and harnessing potential benefits of digital asset technologies.
On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, President Biden signed a...more
3/11/2022
/ AML/CFT ,
Biden Administration ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investor Protection ,
Regulatory Agenda
On June 3, 2021, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision in the OCC's appeal of the SDNY decision in Lacewell v. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in which the NYDFS had successfully challenged...more
Executive Order directs whole-of-government approach and broad regulatory effort.
On May 20, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order ("Order") directing agencies to analyze and mitigate "climate-related financial...more
President Biden issued an Executive Order asking the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury to work with the Financial Stability Oversight Council to assess risks that climate change poses to the financial system....more
State attorneys general have become significant players in the financial world, using a number of special investigative and enforcement tools to investigate and prosecute alleged wrongdoing by financial market participants....more
The New York Department of Financial Services makes good on a promise to fill the void left by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
On April 29, 2019, the New York Department of Financial Services ("DFS") announced...more
The Situation: SFIG's LIBOR Task Force has released the first of a planned series of "green papers" on benchmark transition in the US securitization market.
The Result: The Green Paper contains proposed recommendations...more