Every five years, the Department of the Treasury conducts a benchmark survey on the ownership of foreign securities by US residents. Data is collected on Form SHC. Reporting is mandatory for all US resident custodians and US...more
Eight years after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) established a comprehensive swap data reporting and public dissemination regulatory regime, on September 17, the Commission adopted extensive...more
Last week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission publicized a cascade of settlements of enforcement actions alleging breaches of laws and rules related to supervision, spoofing, reporting, and misappropriation of...more
10/8/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Misleading Statements ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Swap Dealers
BROKER-DEALER -
FINRA Publishes Notice to Members Encouraging Continued Disclosure of Digital Assets Activities –
On July 18, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) published Regulatory Notice 19-24...more
7/22/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Offerings ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Virtual Currency
Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued a joint statement setting forth concerns they have with the ability of broker-dealers to comply with the SEC’s Customer...more
7/16/2019
/ Books & Records ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Customer Protection Rule ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Stability Board ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Management ,
Joint Statements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIPA
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Proposes Amendments to Update the Accelerated and Large Accelerated Filer Definitions -
On May 9, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to the accelerated filer and large...more
5/20/2019
/ Accelerated Filers ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
CRD IV Directive ,
CRR II ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
ICFR ,
Internal Controls ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smaller Reporting Companies ,
Threshold Requirements
A swap dealer was fined US $12 million by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for a host of purported noncompliance issues. It was also sanctioned for allegedly not disclosing in two annual chief compliance officer...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission revised its rule related to the responsibilities of chief compliance officers of futures commission merchants, swap dealers and major swap participants, as well as the obligations of...more
8/28/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulation SHO ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Smaller Reporting Companies ,
Virtual Currency
UK-Based Subsidiary of US Bank Fined UK £34.5 Million for Not Reporting Certain Derivatives Transactions As Required: UK-based Merrill Lynch International consented to the imposition of a fine of £34.5 million (the equivalent...more
11/1/2017
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disruptive Trading Practices ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities Fraud ,
Wash Trades
New SEC Chairman Previews Governing Principles; Stresses Commitment to Working With CFTC: Last week, Jay Clayton, newly appointed Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, enumerated eight “guiding principles” that...more
Supplemental CFTC Regulation AT Proposal Generally Criticized as Too Prescriptive:
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's November 2016 amended proposed rules to address algorithmic trading and users of algorithmic...more
SEC/CORPORATE -
Supreme Court Rules on Insider Trading Involving Family and Friends -
In its first insider trading decision in nearly two decades, the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously to uphold an insider trading...more
Non-Member Tipper and Tippee Fined by CME Group for Insider-Trading Type Offenses; Two Member Firms Fined for Algo System Gone Wild -
Two apparently related non-members of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange agreed to be...more
NFA Proposes Requiring CTAs and CPOs to File Certain Financial Ratio Information: The National Futures Association submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for its approval a new requirement that would mandate...more
Another Publicly Traded Firm Sanctioned by SEC For Allegedly Undercutting Whistleblower Protections Through Severance Agreements: Health Net, Inc., a formerly publicly traded company whose securities were registered with the...more
CFTC Again Extends Deadlines for New OCR Compliance; Puts Pressure on FCM Clients Who Will Not Provide Adequate Information Regarding Trading Control -
Late last week, staff of the Division of Market Oversight of the...more
4/12/2016
/ Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) ,
CFTC ,
Deadlines ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
FSOC ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
G20 ,
Leverage Ratio ,
MetLife ,
No-Action Relief ,
OCR ,
Oil & Gas ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SIFIs ,
Spoofing ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
CFTC Advisory Committee Says There Is No Evidence Justifying Proposed New Position Limits: A report issued by the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission roundly...more
On January 15, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight (DMO) issued CFTC letter 16-03 (“Letter”) providing a conditional, time-limited extension of the relief provided in CFTC Letter 13-41,...more
SEC Considers New Rule to Restrict Use of Derivatives by Investment Companies:
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a new rule aimed at limiting the leverage registered investment companies could obtain...more
ESMA Publishes Final Technical Standards for MiFID II -
The European Securities and Markets Authority issued the equivalent of final rules (known as “technical standards”) to implement three cornerstones of the European...more
10/6/2015
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Credit Suisse ,
Disruptive Trading Practices ,
Electronic Blue Sheets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
False Statements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Lehman Brothers ,
Material Violation ,
MiFID ,
OCR ,
Proprietary Trading ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technical Standards
CFTC Says Virtual Currencies Are a “Commodity” Under Federal Law, Files Charges Against Coinflip for Operating an Unregistered Bitcoin Options Trading Platform -
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed and...more
9/22/2015
/ Algorithmic Trading ,
Australia ,
Basel III ,
Bitcoin ,
Block Trades ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Canada ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
CEOs ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Commodities ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cybersecurity ,
Derivatives ,
Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Industry Examinations ,
Layering ,
Liquidity Risk Management Rule ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SEFs ,
Spoofing ,
Swap Dealers
CME Group Files Disciplinary Actions for Trading Ahead of Block Trades and Failure to Supervise an Employee Engaging in Disruptive Trading Activities -
In two cases of first impression, CME Group exchanges brought and...more
8/25/2015
/ Audits ,
Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Block Trades ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
CME NYMEX ,
Disruptive Trading Practices ,
DMO ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internships ,
Investment Adviser ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
NYDFS ,
OIG ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Clearing ,
Swaps
CFTC Chairman Discloses Second Phase of Regulatory Review Before Senate Committee; Commissioner Giancarlo Questions Position Limits Proposal Before Energy Risk Summit -
Timothy Massad, Chairman of the Commodity Futures...more
Just prior to Christmas 2014, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight issued no-action relief extending the deadline by when chief compliance officer annual reports must...more