United States

SEC Orders Third Ever Whistleblower Award to Compliance Officer

On March 30, 2020, the SEC ordered its third ever whistleblower award to a compliance officer in the amount of $450,000. In 2010, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which, among other things provided for the payment of monetary awards under certain circumstances to whistleblowers whose tips to the SEC … Continue Reading

Financial services regulation hub now available on the NRF Institute

In an increasingly complex and fast-paced regulatory environment, financial services firms must remain responsive to a wide range of evolving areas, whilst ensuring compliance with new laws and regulation. To help our clients stay up to date on regulatory change as it happens, we have created a new financial services regulation hub on the NRF … Continue Reading

The other side of the Volcker Rule: Proposed changes to the covered funds provisions

By Kathleen Scott (US) on April 21, 2020 Posted in Asset management, Banking, Dodd-Frank, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

In November 2019, the financial services regulators responsible for the Volcker Rule regulations (the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Securities and Exchange Commission, collectively, the “Agencies”) issued final rules revising the proprietary … Continue Reading

US AML compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic

By Kathleen Scott (US) on April 15, 2020 Posted in Banking, Coronavirus, Enforcement, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

The US anti-money laundering (AML) agency, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), has issued guidance regarding AML compliance for financial institutions during the current COVID-19 pandemic. This guidance would be in addition to any issuances from their respective functional regulators, if any. March 16 Guidance On March 16, 2020, FinCEN issued guidance requesting that financial … Continue Reading

FINRA (and selected SEC) regulatory matters at a glance: What compliance officers need to know

By Glen Barrentine (US) on April 7, 2020 Posted in Brokers and Intermediaries, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

Glen Barrentine is Of Counsel in the New York office of Norton Rose Fulbright. His practice focuses broadly on SEC regulated financial service clients, including broker-dealers, securities exchanges, municipal advisors and investment advisers. Glen frequency represents clients in connection with SEC and FINRA enforcement proceedings and other contentious regulatory inquiries, purchases and sales, and the … Continue Reading

Federal regulators suspend foreclosures and evictions for certain home owners

By Kathleen Scott (US), Patrick Dolan (US) and Ryan Graham (US) on April 6, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing the U.S. economy to a halt, residential mortgage servicers are bracing for widespread defaults as a result of the general economic shutdown. A recent projection from Moody’s estimates that approximately 30% of home loans could enter default if the economic shutdown continues through the summer. To alleviate pressure on borrowers, … Continue Reading

The LIBOR Transition – ARRC’s Recommended Fallback Contract Language – New Variable Rate Private Student Loans

By Patrick Dolan (US) and Kathleen Scott (US) on April 6, 2020 Posted in Banking, General, LIBOR, Regulation and compliance, United States

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, in this post, we discuss the proposal from the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”) consultation on fallback contract language for new variable rate private student loans. This is … Continue Reading

Global Asset Management Quarterly – 14th edition now available online

By Richard Sheen (UK), Imogen Garner (UK) and Simon Lovegrove (UK) on April 6, 2020 Posted in Asia, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

The latest issue of Global Asset Management Quarterly is now available here. This issue contains the following articles: Europe European update Launch of IFR/IFD transition hub EU/UK regulatory roundup United Kingdom COVID-19: action points for boards to consider FCA Dear CEO letter: Asset management firms – prepare now for the end of LIBOR Extension of … Continue Reading

Monthly global FinTech regulatory updater

Every month we provide the Global Blockchain Business Council’s Post-Trade Distributed Ledger group with a global regulatory FinTech updater, the latest version of which can be found here. Post Trade Distributed Ledger (PTDL) Group is composed of over 40 prominent market infrastructure stakeholders whose shared vision of the use of distributed ledger technology has brought … Continue Reading

NYDFS Requires COVID-19 Plans by April 9

By Kathleen Scott (US) and Susan Ross (US) on April 2, 2020 Posted in Banking, Coronavirus, Fintech, General, Insurance, Insurance, Regulation and compliance, United States

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

US banking regulators delay CECL adoption for some, but not all, banks

By Patrick Dolan (US), Kathleen Scott (US) and Ryan Graham (US) on April 2, 2020 Posted in Banking, Coronavirus, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

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

US financial regulators establish webpages on the COVID-19 pandemic

By Kathleen Scott (US) on March 27, 2020 Posted in Asset management, Banking, Brokers and Intermediaries, Commodities & Derivatives, Coronavirus, General, Regulation and compliance, United States

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

Federal Reserve establishes Commercial Paper Funding Facility

By Patrick Dolan (US), Kathleen Scott (US) and Ryan Graham (US) on March 27, 2020 Posted in Asset management, Banking, Coronavirus, General, Securities, United States

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

Federal Reserve announces TALF 2.0 to assist asset-backed issuers

By Patrick Dolan (US), Kathleen Scott (US) and Ryan Graham (US) on March 26, 2020 Posted in Asset management, Banking, Coronavirus, General, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

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

FINRA Updates FAQs Related to COVID-19 Regulatory Relief

By Glen Barrentine (US) on March 26, 2020 Posted in Asset management, Brokers and Intermediaries, Coronavirus, Regulation and compliance, United States

FINRA has supplemented its FAQs related to COVID-19 regulatory relief. Summaries of the new FAQs are provided below. Helpfully, FINRA has also provided a link to state “shelter-in-place” and “stay-at-home” orders. Impact of Communication Disruptions – Implications for Firms. FINRA states that member firms should consider steps they can take to mitigate risks that may … Continue Reading

What is the STOCK Act?

By Kevin Harnisch (US), Keith Rosen (US), Samuel Ramer (US) and Wenda Tang (US) on March 24, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Securities, United States

The STOCK Act clarifies that members of Congress and other congressional employees do, in fact, have a duty of trust and confidence to the Congress, the United States Government, and US citizens.… Continue Reading

SEC provides further COVID-19 relief relating to investment advisers regarding temporary locations and inadvertent adviser custody

By Glen Barrentine (US) and Steven Howard (US) on March 20, 2020 Posted in Asset management, Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

On March 16, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management announced additional COVID-19 related relief. This relief is available on the SEC’s COVID-19 page, available here, and summarized below. Operation of Business From Temporary Locations. The conduct of business from temporary locations, such as an employee’s home, as part of a firm’s … Continue Reading

Coronavirus | COVID-19: US SEC provides temporary relief to assist funds and advisers by permitting virtual board meetings and providing reporting relief

By Glen Barrentine (US) and Steven Howard (US) on March 19, 2020 Posted in Asset management, Coronavirus, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Regulation and compliance, Securities, United States

On March 13, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced conditional, temporary relief for funds (available here) and both registered and exempt reporting investment advisers (available here) impacted by COVID-19. The relief covers in-person board meetings by fund boards and certain filing and delivery requirements for both advisers and funds. Funds and advisers that … Continue Reading

Monthly global FinTech regulatory updater

By Hannah Meakin (UK) on March 17, 2020 Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Fintech, Fintech, FinTech, Fintech, Fintech, Fintech, Fintech, Fintech, Fintech, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States

US banking regulators weigh in on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

By Kathleen Scott (US) on March 16, 2020 Posted in Banking, Coronavirus, Coronavirus, General, Regulation and compliance

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

What are the top AML and sanctions compliance challenges in 2020?

By Sven Stumbauer on March 13, 2020 Posted in Africa, Anti-corruption and business and human rights, Anti-money laundering, Anti-money laundering, Anti-Money Laundering, Asia, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

We recently completed our global anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions compliance survey that involved discussions with senior financial services executives. Our global analysis covers 375 participating financial institutions from 77 countries. Our initial analysis indicates several key trends: regulatory pressure on AML and sanctions compliance was significant in 2019 and is expected to continue increasing … Continue Reading

The LIBOR Transition – ARRC releases recommended NY Legislation on LIBOR

By Patrick Dolan (US) and Kathleen Scott (US) on March 11, 2020 Posted in Banking, Commodities & Derivatives, General, LIBOR, Regulation and compliance, United States

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

FINRA’s Guidance to Broker-Dealers on Pandemic Preparedness (coronavirus, COVID-19)

By Glen Barrentine (US) on March 10, 2020 Posted in Brokers and Intermediaries, Compliance, Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Regulation and compliance, United States

In light of mounting concerns about COVID-19, aka the coronavirus, FINRA recently published FINRA Regulatory Notice 20-08 – Pandemic-Related Business Continuity Planning, Guidance and Regulatory Relief. Notice 20-08 provides both guidance on pandemic preparedness and regulatory relief to impacted member firms. Notice 20-08 supplements previous guidance on pandemic preparedness that FINRA published in October 2009 … Continue Reading