United States

Latest issue of Global Asset Management Quarterly now available

The ninth issue of our Global Asset Management Quarterly is now available. You can also register to automatically receive each issue as it is released. This publication highlights key developments that will be of interest to, and affect, our asset management clients, including market trends and developments in tax and buy-side regulation globally. Articles in … Continue Reading

More guidance on the new FinCEN “beneficial ownership” rule

By Kathleen Scott (US) on May 14, 2018 Posted in Banking, Brokers and Intermediaries, Commodities & Derivatives, Enforcement, General, Money laundering, Regulation and compliance, United States

In May 2016, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the U.S. agency tasked with issuing anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, issued a final rule requiring that certain categories of financial institutions identify the beneficial owners of their legal entity customers and incorporate customer due diligence procedures into their required AML compliance programs. The regulation was effective … Continue Reading

Regulatory reform in financial services in China

By Kathleen Scott (US) on May 8, 2018 Posted in Banking, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

On April 27, 2018, various financial regulators in China promulgated new measures further opening up the financial services industry to foreign investment, regulating non-financial entities investing in financial institutions and tightening up control over the conduct of asset management business by financial institutions. Our colleagues in Beijing and Shanghai, Sun Hong, Wang Yi, Lynn Yang, … Continue Reading

Foreign bank prevails in US Supreme Court on Alien Tort Statute Case

By Kathleen Scott (US) on April 30, 2018 Posted in Banking, General, United States

In an opinion issued on April 24, 2018, Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC, a divided US Supreme Court held that litigants cannot use the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350, to sue foreign corporations. The decision put an end to a split among the lower courts and in narrowing the ATS’s application, the decision … Continue Reading

New York State starts cryptocurrency exchange inquiry; SEC and CFTC foresee additional cryptocurrency and ICO regulation

By Andrew Lom (US) and Rachael Browndorf (US) on April 24, 2018 Posted in Commodities & Derivatives, Fintech, General, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

On April 17, 2018, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman took the first steps in launching the new Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative through a fact-finding questionnaire sent to thirteen of the major cryptocurrency trading platforms. The Initiative’s focus is protecting consumers and increasing transparency for both investors and enforcement agencies. “Yet too often, consumers … Continue Reading

Anatomy of an ICO

By Kathleen Scott (US) on April 12, 2018 Posted in Fintech, General, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

A growing number of companies are turning to initial coin offerings—called ICOs—as an innovative way to raise capital. But do people really know what are they and how they work? Please check out this article by Andrew Lom, Rita Astoor and Rachael Browndorf on ICOs that includes a description of what ICOs are, how the … Continue Reading

FinCEN offers additional guidance on the “beneficial ownership rule”

By Kathleen Scott (US) on April 11, 2018 Posted in Banking, Enforcement, General, Money laundering, Regulation and compliance, United States

April 17 Norton Rose Fulbright New York briefing to focus on aspects of the new US tax law

By Kathleen Scott (US) on April 5, 2018 Posted in General, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

Norton Rose Fulbright New York office’s next financial services briefing is a luncheon seminar set for Tuesday, April 17, 2018, at 12:00-1:00 PM EDT. Norton Rose Fulbright’s senior practitioners periodically provide interested in-house counsel and professionals with an insightful discussion on current regulatory trends within the financial services sector. The April briefing will be both … Continue Reading

US federal court holds that CFTC can regulate virtual currencies as commodities

By Kathleen Scott (US) on March 28, 2018 Posted in Commodities & Derivatives, Fintech, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

A New York federal court held that virtual currencies can be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as commodities. … Continue Reading

FTC temporarily halts four cryptocurrency chain referral schemes

By Susan Ross (US) and Kathleen Scott (US) on March 20, 2018 Posted in Enforcement, Fintech, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

On March 16, 2018, a federal US District Court judge in Florida unsealed a March 12, 2018, temporary restraining order he had granted at the request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against four individuals and their companies, relating to allegedly deceptive acts or practices involving cryptocurrencies. The order is set to expire on March … Continue Reading

U.S. federal court limits reach of credit risk retention regulations

By Patrick Dolan (US) and Ryan Apar (US) on March 20, 2018 Posted in Asset management, Banking, Dodd-Frank, General, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

On February 9, 2018, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (the “D.C. Circuit”) issued a major decision regarding credit risk retention requirements. Following the 2007-2008 financial crisis, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act (“Dodd-Frank”) in an effort to avert a future crisis and as part of … Continue Reading

Latest issue of Global Asset Management Quarterly now available

By Kathleen Scott (US) on March 2, 2018 Posted in Asset management, General, United States

The eighth issue of our Global Asset Management Quarterly is now available. You can also register to automatically receive each issue as it is released. This publication highlights key developments that will be of interest to, and affect, our asset management clients, including market trends and developments in tax and buy-side regulation globally. Articles in … Continue Reading

Supreme Court holds individuals must report to the SEC to qualify as whistleblowers under Dodd-Frank

By Kathleen Scott (US) on February 24, 2018 Posted in Dodd-Frank, Enforcement, General, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

On Wednesday, February 21, 2018, the US Supreme Court resolved a circuit split by unanimously holding that an employee must report suspected securities law violations to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in order to qualify as a whistleblower entitled to protection from retaliation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act … Continue Reading

February 15 deadline looms for first DFS Cybersecurity Certification

By Susan Ross (US) and Kathleen Scott (US) on February 8, 2018 Posted in Enforcement, Fintech, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

February 15, 2018, is quickly approaching and any entity subject to New York’s cybersecurity regulation (23 NYCRR Part 500) must file its first annual certification of compliance with the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) by that date. New York imposes cybersecurity requirements on all entities (covered entities) subject to the jurisdiction of … Continue Reading

MetLife SIFI Lawsuit dismissed; FSOC designation process may change

By Kathleen Scott (US) on February 7, 2018 Posted in Dodd-Frank, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

On January 23, 2018, the last step occurred in the challenge by MetLife of its designation by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) as a nonbank systemically important financial institution (SIFI) when the U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal with prejudice, approving a motion jointly filed by the MetLife and FSOC. The last remaining … Continue Reading

New security requirements issued for credit card payments on mobile devices

By Kathleen Scott (US) on January 31, 2018 Posted in Banking, General, Regulation and compliance, Retail, United States

On January 24, 2018, the governing body for credit and debit cards, known as the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council, announced a new set of security requirements designed to address an increasingly popular way that merchants offer to consumers to pay for purchases: smartphones and tablets. Our colleague Susan Ross has written a … Continue Reading

February 1 Norton Rose Fulbright New York briefing to focus on Antitrust and Financial Services

By Kathleen Scott (US) on January 24, 2018 Posted in Banking, Fintech, General, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

Norton Rose Fulbright New York office’s next financial services briefing is a luncheon seminar set for Thursday, February 1, 2018, at 12:00-1:00 PM EST. Each month, Norton Rose Fulbright’s senior practitioners will provide interested in-house counsel and professionals with an insightful discussion on current regulatory trends within the financial services sector. The February briefing will … Continue Reading

Lawsuit by New York bank regulator over OCC fintech charter dismissed

By Kathleen Scott (US) on January 12, 2018 Posted in Banking, Fintech, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

Last month, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit brought last spring by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) challenging the ability of the federal banking regulator, the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), to issue a specialized bank charter to … Continue Reading

SEC Cyber Unit successfully pursues fraudulent ICOs

By Andrew Lom (US) and Rachael Browndorf (US) on December 21, 2017 Posted in Securities, United States

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), through its new Cyber Unit, recently obtained an emergency asset freeze against Dominic Lacroix, his partner, Sabrina Paradis-Royer, and his company, PlexCorps, for a fraudulent Initial Coin Offering (“ICO”). The SEC’s complaint alleges that they sold securities claiming investments in PlexCoin would bring profits of 1,354% in less than … Continue Reading

Coinbase ordered to give IRS information on 14,355 account holders

By Susan Ross (US) and Kathleen Scott (US) on December 5, 2017 Posted in Fintech, General, Money laundering, Regulation and compliance, United States

In an order dated November 28, 2017, a U.S. federal magistrate judge ordered cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to turn over certain limited identifying information on 14,355 of their account holders to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This is the latest move in a case that began in 2016 when the IRS issued a so-called “John … Continue Reading

December 7 Norton Rose Fulbright New York briefing to focus on FERC regulatory and enforcement trends

By Kathleen Scott (US) on November 30, 2017 Posted in Energy, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

Norton Rose Fulbright New York office’s next financial services briefing is a luncheon seminar set for Thursday, December 7, 2017, at 12:00-1:00 PM ET. Each month, Norton Rose Fulbright’s senior practitioners will provide interested in-house counsel and professionals with an insightful discussion on current regulatory trends within the financial services sector. The December briefing will … Continue Reading

SEC provides some relief in connection with MiFID II research payment requirements

By Simon Lovegrove and Kathleen Scott (US) on November 17, 2017 Posted in Asset management, Brokers and Intermediaries, Enforcement, General, Market Structure, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

Europe’s revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), effective January 3, 2018, makes a number of important regulatory changes concerning the delivery of financial services and products. A number of these changes have an extraterritorial element that can have a significant impact on US firms. A particularly contentious area has been how European Union … Continue Reading

Celebrity Endorsements, Cryptocurrencies, and Initial Coin Offerings

By Susan Ross (US) and Kathleen Scott (US) on November 14, 2017 Posted in Fintech, General, Regulation and compliance, Retail, Securities, United States

On November 1, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) joined the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in warning celebrities about social media endorsements. SEC Warning The SEC issued both a public statement and an investor alert regarding celebrity endorsements of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). We published a blog post in August regarding the … Continue Reading

November 2 Norton Rose Fulbright New York briefing to focus on SEC/CFTC Enforcement Trends

By Kathleen Scott (US) on November 1, 2017 Posted in Brokers and Intermediaries, Commodities & Derivatives, Enforcement, General, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

Norton Rose Fulbright New York office’s next financial services briefing is a luncheon seminar set for Thursday, November 2, 2017, at 12:00-1:00 PM EDT. Each month, Norton Rose Fulbright’s senior practitioners will provide interested in-house counsel and professionals with an insightful discussion on current regulatory trends within the financial services sector. The November briefing will … Continue Reading