Katten ESG Guidepost is a monthly publication highlighting the latest news, legal and regulatory developments involving environmental, social and governance matters....more
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Further Extends Filing Deadlines for Companies Impacted by COVID-19 -
On March 25, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order extending conditional relief (the Modified Order) for...more
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Amends the Definitions of “Accelerated Filer” and “Large Accelerated Filer” -
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted amendments to the definitions of “Accelerated Filer” and...more
CFTC -
CFTC Designates Small Exchange, Inc. as a Designated Contract Market -
On March 10, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it had issued an Order of Designation approving the application...more
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Amends Disclosure Rules for Registered Debt Offerings -
On March 2, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the financial disclosure requirements for registered debt offerings...more
3/9/2020
/ CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivatives ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Exemptive Relief ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
National Futures Association ,
New Guidance ,
New Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Proposes Amendments to Financial Disclosure in Regulation S-K and Issues New Guidance -
On January 30, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose amendments to certain financial...more
2/11/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
MD&A Statements ,
New Guidance ,
Performance Standards ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Threshold Requirements
SEC/CORPORATE -
Glass Lewis Releases 2020 US Proxy Paper Guidelines -
On November 1, Glass Lewis released its 2020 US Proxy Paper Guidelines. The updates to the voting guidelines primarily add additional factors that...more
11/25/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptoassets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
UK
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Proposes New Amendments to Modernize Shareholder Proposal Rules -
On November 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose amendments to Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange of 1934...more
11/11/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivatives ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
No-Action Letters ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
UK Brexit
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Issues Legal Bulletin Regarding Shareholder Proposals Exclusion -
On October 16, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued Staff...more
10/21/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FinCEN ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Rule 14a-8(i)(7) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Swaps ,
Virtual Currency
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Staff Announces Changes to Rule 14a-8 No-Action Request Process -
On September 6, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission announced...more
9/16/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Consolidated Audit Trail ,
Corporate Governance ,
EMIR ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
No-Action Letters ,
No-Action Requests ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
BROKER-DEALER -
Nasdaq Proposes Rule Change to SEC to Assume Operational Responsibility for Certain Investigation and Enforcement Functions Currently Performed by FINRA -
On April 3, the Securities and Exchange...more
4/8/2019
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Governance ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Nasdaq ,
No-Action Letters ,
No-Action Relief ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SEFs ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
BROKER-DEALER -
FINRA Files Proposed Rule Change to CAB Rules Governing Qualification, Registration and Continuing Education of Associated Persons of CABs -
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is filing...more
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Issues C&DI on Disclosure of Self-Identified Director Diversity Characteristics -
On February 6, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission released...more
2/11/2019
/ C&DIs ,
Central Counterparties ,
Corporate Governance ,
Depository Institutions ,
EMIR ,
EU ,
EU Central Securities Depository Directive ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
MiFIR ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Securitization ,
UK Brexit
BROKER-DEALER -
Postponement of Margin Rules for Covered Agency Transactions Under FINRA Rule 4210 -
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is filing a rule change (SR-FINRA-2019-005) with the Securities and...more
BROKER-DEALER -
SEC and New Jersey US Attorney’s Office Bring Parallel Charges in EDGAR Hacking Scheme -
On January 15, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against nine defendants, alleging their...more
1/21/2019
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Auction ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Corporate Governance ,
EDGAR ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hackers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
BROKER-DEALER -
FINRA Proposes Rule Change Relating to Rule 4512 (Customer Account Information)
On November 28, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filed a proposed change to Rule 4512(a)(3) (Customer Account...more
12/10/2018
/ Corporate Governance ,
ECON ,
EMIR ,
EU ,
Nasdaq ,
Privacy Notice Rule ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proxy Season ,
Securitization ,
SEFs ,
Swaps ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
SEC/CORPORATE -
California Adopts Law Regarding Female Representation on Boards of Directors of Publicly Held Companies -
On September 30, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law California Senate Bill 826 (SB...more
10/8/2018
/ Australia ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Benchmarks ,
Board of Directors ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
Corporate Governance ,
CPOs ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Diversity ,
EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU MAR) ,
FinTech ,
Gender Equity ,
Libor ,
MiFID II ,
MiFIR ,
Swaps ,
UK Brexit ,
Woman Board Members
BROKER-DEALER -
FINRA Reminds Members of Obligations Related to OTC Securities Quoted by a Filed Form 211 -
On September 24, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a Regulatory Notice (Notice)...more
10/1/2018
/ AML/CFT ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cross-Border ,
Dear CEO Letter ,
ECON ,
EMIR ,
EU ,
EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU MAR) ,
FATF ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Libor ,
MiFIR ,
National Futures Association ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
UK
BROKER-DEALER -
SEC Releases Statement on Expiration of Tick Size Pilot -
On September 10, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the early expiration of its Tick Size Pilot Program. Under the program, the...more
9/17/2018
/ Corporate Governance ,
EU ,
FinTech ,
MiFID II ,
National Futures Association ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Senior Management Regime (SMR) ,
Singapore ,
Tick Size ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Issues Smaller Reporting Company Compliance Guide -
On August 10, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission published A Small Entity Compliance Guide for Issuers (the Guide), which...more
8/20/2018
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
CFIUS ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Governance ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Crowdfunding ,
Derivatives ,
ECON ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Smaller Reporting Companies
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Division of Corporation Finance Issues C&DIs Regarding Notices of Exempt Solicitation -
On July 31, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the Staff) of the Securities and Exchange...more
8/13/2018
/ Board of Directors ,
C&DIs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivatives Clearing Organizations ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
MiFID II ,
MiFIR ,
National Futures Association ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency
BROKER-DEALER -
FINRA Seeks Comment on Fintech Innovation in Broker-Dealer Industry -
On July 30, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a Special Notice requesting comment on how to continue to...more
BROKER-DEALER -
SEC Disapproves BZX Proposed Rule Change to List Shares of Bitcoin-Based Exchange-Traded Product -
On July 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission disapproved a Bats BZX Exchange proposed rule change...more
7/30/2018
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Governance ,
EU Passport ,
Investment Adviser ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UCITS ,
UK Brexit
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Amends the Definition of “Smaller Reporting Company” -
On June 28, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it adopted amendments to the definition of “smaller reporting company,” which...more
7/23/2018
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Bitcoin ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivatives Clearing Organizations ,
EU Benchmark Regulation ,
Risk Alert ,
Rule 701 ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Smaller Reporting Companies ,
Sovereign Debt ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volcker Rule
CFTC -
NFA Proposes Amendments to Compliance Rule 2-9(c) and Interpretive Notice: Compliance Rule 2-9: FCM and IB Anti-Money Laundering Program -
On June 15, the National Futures Association (NFA) submitted to the...more
6/25/2018
/ Algorithmic Trading ,
Bank Holding Company ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Corporate Governance ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) ,
Legal Entity Identifiers ,
MLD5 ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)