Podcast: CFTC Issues LIBOR Transition Relief for Swaps
LEGAL ALERT: CFPB Issues Proposed Revisions to No-Action Letter Policy
Open for Business: SEFs Navigate the New Regulatory Environment
The European Banking Authority has published a no-action letter in response to the European Commission's postponement of the application of the revised market risk framework, also known as the Fundamental Review of the...more
In our previous alert, Paying for Buy-Side Investment Research: Will the FCA’s Third Way Ease the US-UK Divide?, we discussed the consultation issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on proposed rules on payment...more
Recently, in response to a request from the Committee of Annuity Insurers, the staff in the Chief Counsel's Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter...more
FinCEN is focused on customer due diligence, and both the 2024 Investment Adviser Risk Assessment and proposed rule indicate that investment advisers will be expected to assess customer identity, business model, and sources...more
Who may be interested: Closed-End Funds; Boards of Directors; Investment Advisers - Quick Take: The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (Staff) recently granted no-action relief to three closed-end funds...more
Editor's Note The following newsletter provides a roundup summarizing enforcement actions, guidance, rulemakings, and other public statements taken by a federal and/or state financial services regulatory agency, specifically...more
Closed-end investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), have proven to be a product sought by many investors, especially individuals. Despite their appeal to long-term...more
Today, the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion will hold a hearing entitled “Fostering Financial Innovation: How Agencies Can Leverage Technology to Shape...more
In Roth v. Foris Ventures, LLC, Nos. 22-16632, 22-16633, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 30081 (9th Cir. Nov. 13, 2023), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit partially reversed the dismissal of a shareholder...more
Corp Fin has announced a new intake system for requests from companies for no-action positions from the staff regarding companies’ intentions to exclude shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8. In the announcement, Corp Fin...more
Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications - Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more
On July 21, 2023, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion asserting that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight likely acted arbitrarily and capriciously,...more
Editor's Note - The following newsletter provides a roundup summarizing enforcement actions, guidance, rulemakings, and other public statements taken by a federal and/or state financial services regulatory agency,...more
We’ve all been in a position where we make an ask of someone—whether it be a significant other, a colleague, a potential client—and you don’t hear back from them. Maybe you ask if they want to attend a concert, write a blog...more
Expiration of SEC Staff’s No Action Letters Providing Relief to Broker-Dealers Regarding MiFID II Research Requirements - On July 3, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) let expire a long-standing...more
Welcome to Vinson & Elkins’ Securities and ESG Updates. Our aim is to provide insights into notable developments in securities reporting and the environmental, social and governance space over the quarter and, where...more
Following a tumultuous 2022 shareholder proposal no-action letter season, the 2023 season contained fewer surprises from the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
The issue of when a person may be considered a “broker” or “dealer” and subject to registration as such under the federal securities laws, as distinguished from so-called finders (and therefore not subject to the panoply of...more
The narrower M&A broker exemption supersedes the 2014 M&A broker no-action letter while leaving state-level restrictions and foreign M&A broker relief unaffected. On March 29, 2023, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934...more
Nearly a decade ago, the SEC Staff issued a no-action letter that enabled investment bankers who limit their services to M&A transactions involving private companies to avoid broker-dealer registration with the SEC. The M&A...more
A new development has emerged in the series of changes to the regulation of finders (i.e., persons that receive compensation for making an introduction leading to a securities transaction) and mergers and acquisition brokers...more
In the client alert dated January 27, 2023, we described a recently enacted federal exemption (the “Exemption”) from SEC registration for Merger and Acquisition Brokers which meet the qualifications of amended Section 15(b)...more
On March 29, 2023, a new exemption from SEC registration for brokers providing services in mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) transactions officially went into effect. The exemption, outlined in Section 501 of the Consolidated...more
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (H.R. 2617) into law, providing a federal statutory exemption from securities law broker registration for merger and acquisition (M&A)...more
Effective March 29, 2023, certain small business brokers will be exempted from registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). The new law was signed into effect on December 29, 2022, as part of the...more