Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, enacted in 2012 with the goal of increasing American job creation and economic growth, contains key provisions relating to securities offered or sold through...more
10/26/2015
/ Brokers ,
Crowdfunding ,
Economic Development ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Job Creation ,
JOBS Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Title III
New Margin Requirements -
The Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation approved a final rule to establish margin requirements for swaps that are not cleared through a clearinghouse. This action is...more
10/23/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Compliance ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Farm Credit Administration ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
FHFA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Hedge Funds ,
Margin Requirements ,
Obama Administration ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps ,
Terrorism Insurance
SEC Chair Mary Jo White recently delivered pointed remarks to a conference attended by hedge fund and private equity advisors.
One portion of her remarks was directed at operational risks of private funds, such as...more
10/22/2015
/ Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Portfolios ,
OCIE ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Private Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Two new Volcker Rule FAQs have been issued.
One FAQ addresses a bank’s market making activities. Amongst other things, the FAQ affirms that for purposes of meeting the final rule’s exemption for market-making, a...more
9/28/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
CEOs ,
Compliance ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities Act ,
Securities Exchanges ,
Trading Platforms ,
Volcker Rule
In the space of just seven days, the CFTC has brought two enforcement actions regarding Bitcoin transactions.
Coinflip, Inc.
In the first action, the CFTC issued an order filing and simultaneously settling charges...more
9/25/2015
/ Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Global Market ,
GMAC ,
Swap Execution Facilities ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
A recent study by Urska Velikonja, Emory University School of Law; University of Chicago – Law School, analyzes the enforcement statistics the SEC publishes. The abstract to the study reads as follows: “Every October, after...more
SEC administrative proceedings have long been viewed as a one-sided rocket docket tilted toward giving the SEC every advantage possible. In response, the SEC has proposed amendments to its rules regarding administrative...more
Defendants continue to pound nails into what may be to be the SEC’s coffin that its administrative proceedings are unconstitutional. If the genie is out of the bottle it’s hard to tell what the far reaching implications...more
The NYSE has filed a proposed rule change that is immediately effective. The NYSE proposes to amend Section 202.06 of the Listed Company Manual to:
- expand the pre-market hours during which listed companies are required...more
9/4/2015
/ Compliance ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Listing Standards ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Release of Information ,
Request For Information ,
Stocks ,
Trading Platforms
Montana and Massachusetts have filed their first brief in their Regulation A+ challenge. They are not happy because Tier 2 offerings under Regulation A+ preempt state review of the offering. Under the text of the rule Tier 2...more
8/28/2015
/ Chevron Deference ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Investors ,
JOBS Act ,
Preemption ,
Qualified Purchaser ,
Regulation A ,
Regulation D ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tier 2 Offerings ,
Title IV
The SEC granted no-action relief to Citizen VC, Inc. which appears to state, although subject to facts and circumstances, a pre-existing relation can be formed with a person that first contacts a seller of securities over the...more
8/7/2015
/ Accredited Investors ,
Compliance ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Financial Markets ,
Internet ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
No-Action Relief ,
Online Platforms ,
Regulation D ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Rule 506(c) ,
Section 502 ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Venture Capital
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has entered a briefing schedule in Montana’s and Massachusetts’ challenge to Regulation A+. The states’ briefs are due August 26, the SEC’s brief is due...more
Outgoing SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher explained his dissenting votes in two SEC enforcement actions against Chief Compliance Officers. Mr. Gallagher explained that in both instances, the Commission’s order states...more
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, entered a preliminary injunction preventing the SEC from conducting an administrative proceeding in an insider trading matter. The...more
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, voted on December 18, 2014 to release a notice seeking public comment regarding potential risks to U.S. financial stability from asset management products and activities,...more
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act established the Office of Financial Research, or OFR, within the Treasury Department to improve the quality of financial data available to policymakers and to...more