On March 10, 2020, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued guidance to all of its regulated institutions engaged in virtual currency business activity, requiring them to have plans for preparedness to manage the possible operational and financial risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. NYDFS requires the plans to be submitted by Thursday, … Continue Reading
After industry groups stressed the need to adopt regulatory changes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 27, 2020, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, the “Banking Agencies”) issued a joint press release announcing an interim final rule … Continue Reading
The US financial regulatory, consumer protection and enforcement supervisors are regularly issuing press releases and statements concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of them has established special links to provide information to the public on its response to the pandemic. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: https://www.federalreserve.gov/covid-19.htm Commodity Futures Trading Commission: https://www.cftc.gov/coronavirus Conference of State … Continue Reading
As part of a comprehensive effort to alleviate strain on the commercial paper markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 17, 2020 the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) announced the creation of the Commercial Paper Funding Facility (“CPFF”). Similar to the CPFF program implemented in 2008, which was … Continue Reading
On March 23, 2020, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) announced a wide array of actions intended to promote economic stability in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including several different credit facilities. The Federal Reserve announced as one of these credit facilities a renewal of the Term Asset-Backed Securities … Continue Reading
As with other US and non-US regulators, the US federal banking regulators (Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, collectively, the “US federal banking regulators”) have been issuing statements and providing guidance on the impact of the coronavirus on banking services. This blog posts covers some … Continue Reading
Following up on our past posts on the transition away from the London Interbank Offering Rate (“LIBOR”), and other interbank offering rates (“IBOR”) denominated in other currencies, we discuss the proposal from the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”) for New York legislation, which was published on March 6, 2020. The ARRC is a group of … Continue Reading
On January 30, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board voted to finalize its April 2019 proposed rule to clarify and simplify the standards under which the Federal Reserve Board determines that one company controls a banking organization or another company. Our post on the April 2019 proposal may be accessed here. The final rule will be … Continue Reading
In a speech to the International Blockchain Congress on February 6, 2020, Securities and Exchange (“SEC”) Commissioner Hester Peirce, sometime referred to as “Crypto Mom,” proposed a three-year safe harbor for virtual currency token projects. The safe harbor would exempt (i) the offer and sale of tokens from the provisions of the Securities Act of … Continue Reading
Following up on our past posts, in this update on the transition away from LIBOR (London Interbank Offering Rate), and other interbank offering rates (“IBOR”) denominated in other currencies, we discuss a Structured Finance Association (“SFA”) survey with respect to potential LIBOR transition solutions in the securitization industry. The SFA is group of structured finance … Continue Reading
On January 10, 2020, the United States (US) imposed economic sanctions on: Iranian sectors that previously had not been specifically targeted, namely the construction, mining, manufacturing and textile sectors; Certain Iranian regime officials; Iran’s largest companies operating in the steel, iron, aluminum, and copper sectors ; and Non-Iranian entities for trade in Iranian metals. Norton … Continue Reading
Following up on our past posts, in this update on the transition away from LIBOR (London Interbank Offering Rate), and other interbank offering rates (“IBOR”) denominated in other currencies, we discuss some recent issuances by global and US government regulators on the LIBOR transition. The LIBOR transition requires considerable work from all market participants and … Continue Reading
Following up on our past posts, this update on the transition away from LIBOR (London Interbank Offering Rate), and other interbank offering rates (“IBOR”) denominated in other currencies, we discuss in this post the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”) and its role in potential New York State legislation with respect to the LIBOR transition. As … Continue Reading
Following up on our past posts, this update on the transition away from LIBOR (London Interbank Offering Rate), and other interbank offering rates (“IBOR”) denominated in other currencies, we discuss in this post the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) Summary of Responses to the ISDA Consultation on Final Parameters for the Spread and Term … Continue Reading
Following up on our past posts, this update on the transition away from LIBOR (London Interbank Offering Rate), and other interbank offering rates (“IBOR”) denominated in other currencies, concerns the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”), and the adoption by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (which are US government-sponsored enterprises in the housing finance market) of … Continue Reading
On Nov. 1, 2019, the US federal banking regulators published three final rules for both US banks and non-US banks with banking operations in the United States regarding prudential standards, liquidity management and resolution planning. In this edition of her New York Law Journal International Banking column, Kathleen A. Scott discusses the history of the … Continue Reading
Following up on our past posts (available here and here) on the transition away from LIBOR (London Interbank Offering Rate), and other interbank offering rates denominated in other currencies (collectively with LIBOR, “IBOR”), we discuss in this post the US Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) proposed “Guidance on the Transition From Interbank Offered Rates to Other … Continue Reading
Following up on our previous post of earlier this week, in this update on the transition away from LIBOR (London Interbank Offering Rate) as the reference rate of choice for financial transactions, we discuss one such alternative, the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (”FRBNY”). On November … Continue Reading
Since its creation by the British Bankers Association in the 1980s, the London Interbank Offering Rate (“LIBOR”) has been used as a reference rate for borrowing costs between banks. The LIBOR calculation today is coordinated by the International Continental Exchange Benchmark Administration, which receives information on a daily basis from a group of global money … Continue Reading
On September 25, 2019, the US House of Representatives passed the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019 (or the SAFE Banking Act). The bill, H.R. 1595, which was first introduced by Congressman Ed Perlmutter on March 7, 2019, generally prohibits US banking regulators from penalizing banks for providing financial services to legitimate cannabis-related … Continue Reading
The Volcker Rule prohibits “banking entities” (generally, insured banks and their affiliates, and non-US banks with US banking operations) from engaging in proprietary trading or sponsoring or investing in private equity funds. Regulations initially implementing the rule were adopted by the federal banking, commodities and securities regulators (Agencies) in 2014. In 2018, the Agencies proposed … Continue Reading
On August 20, 2019, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) became the first two of the five agencies required to approve final amendments to the Volcker Rule that were proposed last year. Our blog post on the proposal may be accessed here. Highlights of the final rule include … Continue Reading
The US Government recently imposed additional economic sanctions with respect to Russia and Venezuela. Norton Rose Fulbright has prepared legal updates discussing these developments: US imposes second round of CBW Act sanctions on Russia, authored by Partners Stefan Reisinger and Steven McNabb, Senior Counsel Kimberly Caine, and Associate Wenda Tang in our Washington DC Office. … Continue Reading
On July 17, 2019, the time period for a no-action position with respect to enforcement action under the Volcker Rule for certain non-US funds was extended for two more years. On July 21, 2017, the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “US Banking Agencies”), issued … Continue Reading
