Regulatory Developments:
DOL Releases Transcripts of Fiduciary Standard Hearings -
The Department of Labor (DOL) has released the transcripts of the hearings held by the agency in August on its proposed fiduciary...more
9/10/2015
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Caesars ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Indemnification ,
Meals-Gifts-and Entertainment Rules ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulation A ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Data Repositories ,
Transcripts
Regulatory Developments -
California Department of Business Oversight Permits Money Transmitter to Treat Customer Funds in Designated Custodial Account as “Eligible Securities” -
The California Department of...more
9/3/2015
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Debt ,
Department of Business Oversight ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Information Reports ,
Investment Adviser ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Transmission Act ,
Money Transmitter ,
Patriot Act ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Regulatory Developments -
CFTC Issues Proposed Amendments to Swap Data Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements for Cleared Swaps:
On Aug. 19 the CFTC announced that it had voted to propose amendments to existing...more
8/27/2015
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CFTC ,
Comment Period ,
Derivatives Clearing Organizations ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
First Amendment ,
Government Officials ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
NASD ,
OCIE ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Contributions ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Data Repositories ,
Swaps
Regulatory Developments -
FinCEN Rules Digital Precious Metal Certificates Provider is a Money Transmitter:
On Aug. 14 FinCEN issued a ruling applying its virtual currency rules to an e-precious metals company. The...more
Regulatory Developments -
SEC Adopts Rules and Forms for Registration of Security-Based Swap Dealers and Major Security-Based Swap Participants:
On Aug. 5, the SEC voted to adopt registration rules and forms for...more
8/6/2015
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
CEOs ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fee Waivers ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Funds ,
Management Fees ,
Pay Ratio ,
Penny Stocks ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Swap Dealers
Regulatory Developments:
SEC Approves New Debt Research Rule and Amended Equity Research Rule -
On July 16, the SEC approved FINRA Rule 2241, which modifies and clarifies existing rules related to research analysts,...more
7/23/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
OCC ,
Private Student Loans ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Seed Financing ,
Tibble v Edison Int ,
Volcker Rule
Regulatory Developments -
CFPB Outlines Guiding Principles for Faster Payment Networks:
On July 9, the CFPB released an outline of its guiding Consumer Protection Principles (Principles) for protecting consumers as...more
7/16/2015
/ BrokerCheck ,
CFTC ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Register ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fund of Funds ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
New Regulations ,
No-Action Letters ,
Payment Systems ,
Proposed Regulation ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tibble v Edison Int
Regulatory Developments -
Agencies Post Public Sections of Resolution Plans:
In a July 6 joint press release, the Federal Reserve Board and FDIC announced that they have posted the public portions of annual...more
7/9/2015
/ Auditors ,
Board of Trustees ,
Closed-End Funds ,
Consent Order ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FSOC ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tibble v Edison Int ,
Unregistered Brokers
Regulatory Developments -
Client Alert: SEC Proposes Pay for Performance Rules:
Goodwin Procter’s Capital Markets practice has issued a Client Alert on the SEC’s proposed rule that would require most public...more
6/25/2015
/ Board of Directors ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Distributed Denial of Service ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Flood Insurance ,
Investment Adviser ,
Lenders ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Municipal Bonds ,
OCIE ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Swaps
SEC Enforcement Action on FCPA Compliance –
Check the Box Is Not Enough. On May 20 the SEC announced that global resources company BHP Billiton had agreed to pay $25 million to settle charges that it had violated the...more
5/28/2015
/ BHP Billiton ,
Breach of Duty ,
Credit Default Swaps ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Institutional Investors ,
Mutual Funds ,
Olympics ,
Pensions ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Pension ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tibble v Edison Int
SEC Proposals to Enhance Investment Company and Investment Adviser Reporting: As we went to press, the SEC commissioners announced that they had voted to approve two proposals. The first was for new and amended rules and...more
5/22/2015
/ Banks ,
Community Banks ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Morgan Stanley ,
OCIE ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Volcker Rule
In This Issue – More on the SEC Whistleblower Program.
In the April 8 issue of the Roundup we reported on the SEC’s administrative proceedings based on findings that restrictive language in a form confidentiality...more
Ninth Circuit Denies Rehearing of Northstar v. Schwab. On April 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied the petition of Schwab Investments’ (Schwab) for rehearing and rehearing en banc in the case of...more
4/30/2015
/ 401k ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Convertible Debt ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Money Market Funds ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trustees
FINRA’s Retrospective Rule Review Process Continues. On April 16, FINRA announced that the FINRA Board of Governors had authorized FINRA to publish a regulatory notice requesting comment on proposed amendments to Rules 2210...more
4/23/2015
/ BlackRock ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Card Agreements ,
Cuba ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Quicken Loans ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFIs ,
Supervision
DOL Fiduciary Standard Proposal. The Department of Labor issued a notice of proposed rulemaking including a definition of the term “fiduciary,” a conflict of interest rule for retirement investments, new exemptions and...more
4/16/2015
/ Australia ,
Bank Holding Company ,
Capital Rules ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
NPRM ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC Acts to Protect Whistleblowers Against Restrictive Confidentiality Provisions. In a development that should send HR directors and general counsels to review their form confidentiality agreements, the SEC announced...more
4/9/2015
/ Asset Valuations ,
Collateralized Loan Obligations ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Iran Sanctions ,
KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Rule 21F ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subordination
FINRA Requests Comment on Current Membership Application Rules.
As part of its ongoing retrospective rule review process, FINRA has published, in Regulatory Notice 15-10, a request for comment on the effectiveness and...more
SEC Focus on Disqualification Waivers. When negotiating a settlement of an SEC enforcement action against a registered financial services firm – or one that hopes one day to become registered – it is vital to consider the...more
3/19/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Disqualification ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Regulation A ,
Regulation D ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
SEC Spotlight on Broker-Dealer Supervision of Outside Business Activities of Registered Representatives.
In this issue we report on the SEC’s settled administrative proceedings against H.D. Vest Investment Securities,...more
FDIC Study Shows Branch Banking Has Staying Power: Has your smartphone displaced your bank? According to an FDIC study released on February 19, traditional brick-and-mortar offices are maintaining their primacy, despite...more
2/26/2015
/ Advertising ,
Banks ,
Brokers ,
Compliance ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
FBAR ,
FDIC ,
Financial Analysts ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinCEN ,
Mobile Banking ,
NASD ,
OCC ,
Registered Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Impact of Regulation on Community Banks: Harvard Study and Senate Banking Committee Hearing Highlight Differing Views. FDIC Director of Risk Management Supervision Doreen Eberley testified last week before the Senate...more
2/19/2015
/ Alternative Investment Funds ,
Alternative Mutual Funds ,
Bad Actors ,
Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Pool ,
Community Banks ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Municipal Securities Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee
Editor’s Note -
FDIC Highlights Efforts to Provide Regulatory Relief for Community Banks: On February 10, 2015, Doreen Eberley, Director at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), testified before the U.S....more
2/12/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
BitLicense ,
Community Banks ,
FDIC ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Hedging ,
Nonbank Firms ,
NYDFS ,
Proxy Statements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee
Editor’s Note -
CFTC Commissioner Giancarlo Proposes “Pro-Reform Reconsideration” of the Swaps Trading Rules. On January 29, CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo published a whitepaper titled “Pro-Reform...more
The CFTC Exercises Expanded Jurisdiction Over Retail Transactions in Physical Commodities.
Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 amended the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) to add new authority over certain leveraged,...more
1/30/2015
/ Amended Legislation ,
CFTC ,
Class Action ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cuba ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Payment Systems ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Editor’s Note -
The Supreme Court Halts Challenge by Retailers to the Debit Card Interchange Fee Rules: On January 20, 2015, the Supreme Court denied certiorari to a challenge by retailers to debit card interchange fee...more
1/22/2015
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
CPOs ,
Debit Cards ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Interchange Fees ,
Investment Adviser ,
National Futures Association ,
Proxy Season ,
Retailers ,
S&P ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Shareholder Proposals