On July 10, 2019, Blockstack Token LLC (“Blockstack”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blockstack PBC, a Delaware public benefit corporation, became the first company to have an offering of digital assets qualified by the U.S....more
On June 5, 2019, the SEC issued an Interpretive Release designed to “reaffirm, and in some cases clarify, the standard of conduct that investment advisers owe to their clients.” The Interpretive Release highlights existing...more
The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) is the shortest of the federal securities laws enacted after the Great Depression, and the SEC has adopted relatively few regulations under the Advisers Act. As any...more
6/13/2019
/ Advertising ,
Advisory Contracts ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Cash Solicitation Rule ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Marketing ,
OCIE ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On May 9, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a guidance, Application of FinCEN’s Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVC) (“Guidance”), together with...more
On April 30, 2019, Governor Hogan signed Senate Bill 136, which amends the Maryland General Corporation Law to permit certain corporate records (including a company’s stock ledger) to be maintained on electronic networks or...more
On April 3, 2019, the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (“FinHub”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published two pieces of guidance on when a blockchain-enabled digital asset will,...more
The end of 2018 was notable for two SEC enforcement actions against private equity fund managers for violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 arising from improper allocations of expenses, undisclosed conflicts of...more
FINRA recently published its 2019 Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter (“Priorities Letter”) highlighting topics upon which FINRA will focus in the coming year. Unlike letters in prior years, the Priorities...more
In December 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published its fifth and last risk alert of 2018 on the topic of electronic messaging by personnel of...more
In between holiday shopping and merriment, we here at the Financial Services Report are pondering what’s in a name. Not much, said Shakespeare. Isaac Asimov begged to differ in a mystery story about who killed one of the...more
12/12/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
HMDA ,
Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
OCC ,
Opt-Outs ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Privacy Laws ,
SCOTUS ,
TCPA
Until November 8, 2018, the enforcement actions of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the digital token (aka cryptocurrency) space have primarily focused on the primary issuances of tokens. However, on...more
On July 11, 2018, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published a Risk Alert identifying the most common deficiencies that its staff observed in recent examinations of registered investment...more
In a July 2018 regulatory notice, FINRA has requested that members notify it if they engage, or intend to engage, in any activities related to digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies. In addition, until July 31, 2019, FINRA...more
SEC FINES BROKER-DEALER FOR EARLY RESALES OF STRUCTURED NOTES -
On June 25, 2018, the SEC announced that a broker-dealer settled charges relating to inappropriate resales of structured notes. The SEC determined that the...more
Many in the blockchain and cryptocurrency community were in a celebratory mood on June 14, 2018, following a landmark speech given by William Hinman, Director for the Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and...more
On May 24, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”). While much of the Act was designed to provide smaller financial institutions and community...more
BELTWAY -
The Wayback Machine -
Congress passed, and on May 24, 2018, the president signed into law, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S.2155). The law makes significant changes to...more
6/8/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Auto Lease ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Growth Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act ,
Fair Lending ,
FDCPA ,
FFIEC ,
FinTech ,
GAO ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
HMDA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFMA ,
TCPA
In a speech on May 2, 2018 regarding the SEC’s recent proposed broker-dealer standard of conduct, Jay Clayton, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), commented as follows on retail investor confusion over...more
In the third release comprising part of the package of proposed rules and forms related to broker-dealers’ and investment advisers’ standards of conduct, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the “Commission”)...more
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or “Commission”), its April 18, 2018 release proposing an interpretation of the standard of conduct for investment advisers (“Adviser Conduct Release”) is intended to...more
Background -
For many years, the distinction between investment advisers and broker-dealers was clear: investment advisers were counselors who were expected to provide advice that was in the best interest of their clients,...more
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) this week provided investment advisers with a summary of frequent compliance issues related to advisory fees and expenses that the staff is seeing in their...more
The 2018 Winter Olympics are over. We watched two 17-year-olds win gold medals in sports that didn’t exist when we were 17. The Garlic Girls, with nicknames from their favorite breakfasts, and the U.S. men’s team won medals...more
3/13/2018
/ Arbitration ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Fair Lending ,
FDIC ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Prepaid Payment Products ,
Restitution ,
TCPA ,
Vicarious Liability
On March 7, 2018, the staff of the Divisions of Enforcement and Trading and Markets of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a public statement regarding exchanges and other secondary trading platforms that list...more