On April 6, 2021, New York Governor Mario Cuomo signed into law legislation tackling the uncertainties surrounding the LIBOR transition, particularly for legacy contracts. The new law amends the New York State General Obligations Law by adding a new Article 18-C, and is limited to contracts governed by New York law that are either silent … Continue Reading
The National Defense Authorization Act became law on January 1, 2021, after the U.S. Congress overrode a presidential veto. Division F of the Act is the “Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020” (AMLA). In her latest The New York Law Journal column, “ AML Act of 2020: Topics of interest for international banks,” Kathleen Scott, Senior … Continue Reading
On March 15, 2020, Allison Lee, Acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), delivered comments at the Center for American Progress via webcast, announcing the opening of a comment period regarding climate change disclosures. The submissions are to be used in developing future guidance and proposals on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues. … Continue Reading
On March 3, 2021, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced a Consent Order with a NYDFS-licensed Maine-based mortgage banker and loan servicer settling alleged violations of the NYDFS cybersecurity regulations. (In the matter of Residential Mortgage Services, Inc., March 3, 2021). As a result of the regular safety and soundness examination of … Continue Reading
In recent weeks, Commissioner Hester Peirce of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) gave two speeches highlighting the need for legal clarity in the FinTech space and for legacy financial firms to embrace innovation. Speaking at a George Washington University Law School event – Regulating the Digital Economy Conference – Commissioner Peirce discussed the recent … Continue Reading
On February 26, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Division of Examinations (the “Division” and formerly known as “OCIE”) released a Risk Alert (the “Risk Alert”) reminding market participants – investment advisers, broker-dealers, exchanges, and transfer agents – of the framework surrounding digital assets that are securities (“Digital Asset Securities”). The Division also set … Continue Reading
On Friday, March 5, 2021, the US Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC), the group of private sector and government agencies working on alternatives to the end of the use of LIBOR, issued a press release commending the issuances by ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA), the LIBOR administrator, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), confirming that … Continue Reading
On December 8, 2020, BlueCrest Capital Management Limited (“BlueCrest”), a UK-based investment adviser, agreed to a $170 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to settle charges involving insufficient and misleading disclosures to investors that BlueCrest was also operating a proprietary, internal fund, moving its best traders to such fund and replacing the … Continue Reading
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted crypto-focused Protego Trust Company, a Washington state trust company, conditional approval to convert to a national trust bank earlier this month, marking only the second time that a federal bank charter has been approved for a crypto firm – and the first since the January … Continue Reading
On December 23, 2020, New York Governor Mario Cuomo signed legislation adding a new Article 8 to the Financial Services Law, “Commercial Financing,” that requires nonbank commercial loan providers to make disclosures to small business borrowers. The law applies only to loans of $500,000 or less. The commercial lending to which the new law pertains … Continue Reading
In 2020, several federal regulatory changes affected banking organizations, such as the finalization of the long-awaited Federal Reserve Board “control” regulations and the revision of the “covered funds” prong of the Volcker Rule. But, what is ahead for 2021 in the regulatory sphere for banking organizations? In her latest New York Law Journal column, “International … Continue Reading
The National Defense Authorization Act was enacted on January 1, 2021, after the US Senate joined the House of Representatives in overriding a presidential veto of the bill. In addition to authorizing appropriations for the Department of Defense, the new law also contains several provisions designed to improve policies and procedures aimed at policing money … Continue Reading
On December 16, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) announced that it had adopted final rules requiring resource extraction issuers to disclose payments to governments related to the commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals (the Rules). The Rules implement Section 13(q) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which … Continue Reading
On December 18, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency), Federal Reserve Board and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) jointly announced a 53-page proposed rule that would require banks to notify their regulators within 36 hours of a “computer-security incident” that rises to the level of a “notification … Continue Reading
On January 1, 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act became effective after Congress overrode President Trump’s veto. Although unrelated to national defense issues, Section 6501 of the legislation amends Section 21(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to double the SEC’s statute of limitations for seeking disgorgement of a defendant’s unjust enrichment from five … Continue Reading
The National Defense Authorization Act was enacted on January 1, 2021, after the Senate joined the House in overriding President Trump’s veto of the bill. In addition to authorizing appropriations for the Department of Defense, the new law also contains several provisions designed to improve policies and procedures aimed at policing money laundering and terrorism … Continue Reading
When banks and certain other financial institutions open accounts for entities, among other anti-money laundering (AML) customer identification requirements, they must obtain beneficial ownership information on individuals owning 25% or more of the entity and a person with significant control over the entity such as a president or chief executive officer. We have published several … Continue Reading
In a December 9, 2020, letter, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) extended its no-action relief to broker-dealers in securities (“broker-dealers”) that wish to rely on investment advisers to perform the broker-dealer’s obligations under US federal anti-money laundering (“AML”) customer identification program and beneficial owner identification regulations. First provided in 2004 regarding customer identification … Continue Reading
Having only days previously made statements that such a deal was unlikely and warning their citizens to prepare for a no deal Brexit, the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) announced on 24 December 2020 that they had reached an agreement in principle on trade and co-operation. More than 1200 pages long, the … Continue Reading
The Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (“ICE”) recently released a consultation that the administrator of LIBOR, ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (“IBA”), requesting feedback on a decision to cease publication of the overnight, one-, three-, six- and twelve-month U.S. Dollar LIBOR (“LIBOR”). The previous expectation was that publication would stop at the end of 2021. It now appears … Continue Reading
Is the token holder – often the holder of some sort of digital currency – always free to choose which branch of the fork to take? A blockchain is often thought of as a record of a single continuous sequential series of transactions, but sometimes the chain can branch off into a new direction from … Continue Reading
As we discussed in our October blogpost “Advances in New York City PACE programs,” the New York City Department of Finance (“NYCDOF”) has published for comment proposed rules that would establish criteria and program guidelines for the New York City Commercial Property Assessment Clean Energy (“C-PACE”) Program. The proposed rules establish eligibility criteria for obtaining … Continue Reading
The UK Financial Conduct Authority has warned that the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is not likely to be published after 2021. What will happen to LIBOR-based municipal securities, loans, and derivatives that extend beyond 2021, if and when LIBOR goes away? The contracts could be remediated by pending New York and possible federal LIBOR … Continue Reading
On November 2, 2020, in an effort to harmonize and modernize the exempt offering framework under the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a final rule entitled “Facilitating Capital Formation and Expanding Investment Opportunities by Improving Access to Capital in Private Markets.” In a new legal … Continue Reading
