Treasury proposed a new rule that would require investment advisers to establish an AML/CFT program and file certain reports, such as Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), with FinCEN (Proposed Rule).
The Proposed Rule...more
3/13/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Mutual Funds ,
National Security ,
New Rules ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Patriot Act ,
Private Funds ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Training ,
U.S. Treasury
At a contentious open meeting on February 6, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) voted three to two to adopt rule amendments (Final Rules) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange...more
The Financial Stability Oversight Council unanimously approved an analytic framework for financial stability risk identification, assessment and response and interpretive guidance on nonbank financial company determinations...more
The SEC’s Division of Examinations (EXAMS) published its report on 2024 Examination Priorities on October 16, 2023.
The 2024 Examination Priorities continue to reflect an examination program that is vigorous and broad...more
12/18/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Private Funds ,
REIT ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Proposed Amendments would permit FINRA members to include targeted returns or projected performance solely if the communication is either: (i) an “institutional communication” as defined in FINRA Rule 22102.; or (ii)...more
Starting July 1, 2025, any person or entity engaged in a “digital financial asset business activity” within California or with a California resident will be required to obtain a license from the California Department of...more
12/1/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
California ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Ethereum ,
Money Transmission Act ,
New Legislation ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
The Securities and Exchange Commission on October 13, 2023, adopted two new rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 expanding reporting requirements for securities lending and short sales and amending rules regarding...more
11/2/2023
/ Covered Person ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Lending ,
New Regulations ,
New Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Short Sales
The Financial Stability Oversight Council on April 21, 2023, released for public comment a proposed analytic framework for financial stability risk identification, assessment and response (Proposed Framework) and proposed...more
Over the last six months, artificial intelligence (AI) has captured the public imagination in a way it never has before. A new generation of AI-powered language models make use of a deep learning architecture known as a...more
4/27/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Cybersecurity ,
Due Diligence ,
ECOA ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Lending ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Software
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations (EXAMS) published its report on 2023 Examination Priorities on February 7, 2023. The 2023 Examination Priorities continue to reflect an examination program...more
This OnPoint summarizes the panel discussion at Dechert’s annual investment funds conference that took place in Luxembourg in the last quarter of 2022. At the conference, we discussed the Regulation on the Markets of Crypto...more
1/27/2023
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Digital Ledger Technology ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Parliament ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
FinCEN ,
FSOC ,
Howey ,
Investment Funds ,
MiFID ,
Prospectus Regulation (PR3) ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the Agencies) on January 3, 2023...more
1/27/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Fraud ,
Investment Contract ,
Market Volatility ,
OCC ,
Risk Management
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) on November 30, 2022, filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, arguing that the United States District Court for the District of...more
The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) on December 15, 2022, implementing the requirements of Section 6403 of the Corporate Transparency Act (Act)...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Division) on December 8, 2022 released guidance for companies issuing securities in an illustrative letter, entitled “Sample Letter to Companies Regarding Recent...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced, on November 14, 2022, a targeted exam focusing on broker-dealers’ practices for communications with retail investors regarding Crypto Assets (as defined below)....more
The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on September 29, 2022 issued a final rule (Final Rule) defining and implementing the beneficial ownership reporting requirements of Section 6403...more
12/1/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Ownership Interest ,
Pooled Investment Vehicles ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
The White House released a fact sheet on September 16, 2022, issuing the “First-Ever Comprehensive Framework for Responsible Development of Digital Assets” (Fact Sheet), which provides insight into the federal government’s...more
10/5/2022
/ Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Justice ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Infrastructure ,
Investors ,
New Guidance ,
Shareholders
The Securities and Exchange Commission in 2019 issued significant new rules and interpretations addressing the standards of conduct for broker-dealers, in the form of Regulation Best Interest, and the standards of conduct for...more
10/3/2022
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compensation ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Conduct
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) approved final guidelines (Guidelines) on August 15, 2022, to be used by Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) to evaluate requests to use accounts and...more
9/13/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Stablecoins
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board of Governors) issued a joint letter (Joint Letter) on July 28, 2022, to Voyager Digital, LLC and its related entities...more
8/5/2022
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Depository Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
FDI Act ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation
DFS Guidance -
The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris issued new DFS Regulatory Guidance (Guidance) on June 8, 2022, setting foundational criteria for USD-backed...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued a regulatory notice clarifying the scope of supervisory liability under FINRA Rule 3110 of a broker-dealer’s chief compliance officer (CCO) (Regulatory Notice). FINRA’s Head...more
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve on January 20, 2022, published a discussion paper (the “Paper”) concerning the possibility of creating a central bank digital currency (“CBDC”). The Paper discusses the uses,...more
2/11/2022
/ Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Comment Period ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Transactions ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda
The U.S. federal securities laws, the Commodity Exchange Act and regulations thereunder, and certain other applicable federal laws, rules and regulations, as well as rules of U.S. self-regulatory organizations (such as the...more
2/9/2022
/ Beneficial Owner ,
CFTC ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Large Traders ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation