The Nutter Securities Enforcement Update is a periodic update of noteworthy recent securities enforcement activity, settlements, decisions, and charges. We provide brief summaries that highlight recent enforcement action...more
Who may be interested: Registered Investment Companies, Investment Advisers, Broker-Dealers - Quick Take: The SEC settled charges against a firm and the former head of the firm’s equity syndicate desk, arising out of a...more
On January 8, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a jury’s verdict in a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) enforcement action against EOX Holdings, L.L.C. (“EOX”) and its employee, Andrew...more
SFC proposes guidelines for intermediaries conducting and receiving market soundings in securities and capital market transactions. On 11 October 2023, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a consultation...more
New DOL Rule Enables Consideration of ESG Factors in Investing, Plus the SEC Continues its ESG Enforcement Push in the Absence of Final SEC Rules - On November 22, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule...more
Effective December 13, 2022, ICE Futures U.S. (IFUS) is implementing new functionality under its block trade rule permitting dealers to trade “equity basis blocks” (EBBs) in IFUS futures contracts on MSCI Indices, the NYSE...more
On August 9, 2022, in CFTC v. EOX Holdings LLC, the first insider trading trial in a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) enforcement action, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found...more
With some frequency, Katten attorneys field questions from clients about exchange rules on off-exchange execution of futures and options on futures. This Advisory provides a high-level overview on this topic in connection...more
The U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of Labor are issuing this advisory to highlight growing risks to American businesses and individuals...more
COVID-19 fallout continued to dominate the financial services industry during the past few weeks, prompting ongoing adherence to business continuity and other contingency plans by market participants and new relief by...more
On January 30, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) unanimously approved proposed amendments (SEF Proposed Rules) to CFTC regulations related to the execution of package transactions, the correction of error...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) issued a release (the “SEF Proposing Release”) that would make significant revisions to the regulatory requirements that apply under Part 37 of the CFTC Rules (the...more
Last week, a senior official of the Securities and Exchange Commission said that Bitcoin and Ether are not securities and that there might be circumstances when a utility token is also not a security. The same official and...more
CFTC Names Four Banking Organization Companies, a Trading Software Design Company and Six Individuals in Spoofing-Related Cases; the Same Six Individuals Criminally Charged Plus Two More: On January 29, the Commodity Futures...more
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) on December 1, 2017 self-certified contracts for bitcoin futures products with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Additionally, on...more
First Cash-Settled Bitcoin Futures Contract Begins Trading on CFTC-Overseen Exchange; Industry Organization Bemoans Self-Certification Process: The CBOE Futures Exchange commenced trading of Bitcoin Futures last night –...more
In this newsletter, we provide a snapshot of the principal US, European and global financial regulatory developments of interest to banks, investment firms, broker-dealers, market infrastructure providers, asset managers and...more
CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight Extends Time-Limited No-Action Relief for SEFs from Certain Block Trade Requirements - On November 14, 2017, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division ("CFTC") of Market...more
FCM Agrees to Pay US $2.5 Million CFTC Fine for Relying on Affiliate’s Purportedly Misleading Analysis of Block Trades for a CME Group Investigation: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated agreed to pay a fine of...more
CFTC Inspector General Strongly Criticizes Cost-Benefit Analysis Underlying Commission’s Rule Establishing Margin for Uncleared Swaps: The Office of Inspector General of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said that the...more
ICE Futures U.S. Settles Disciplinary Actions Against Three Respondents For Alleged Block Trade Violations For US $325,000 Combined Fine - ICE Futures U.S. settled two related disciplinary actions against three persons for...more
January 2017 - The last several years have seen law enforcement and regulatory bodies sharpen their focus on trading activity in the securities and derivatives markets. This focus has coincided with the advent of new and...more
Federal District Court Approves Flash Crash Spoofer’s US $38 Million Settlement; Federal Appeals Court Appears Sympathetic to Michael Coscia’s Claim That Spoofing Prohibition Is Too Vague - The US federal court handling...more
Alleged Flash Crash Spoofer Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges and Agrees to Resolve CFTC Civil Complaint by Paying Over $38.6 Million in Penalties: Navinder Singh Sarao pleaded guilty last Wednesday in a US federal court in...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