Last week, the banking agencies issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions that provides certainty regarding the treatment of tokenized securities for purposes of the capital rules. While this is not...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted final rules and form amendments to reflect the requirements of the recently enacted Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable (“HFIA”) Act....more
On February 12, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.’s (“FINRA”) amendments to FINRA Rule 3220 (Influencing or Rewarding Employees of Others)...more
While visiting Texas, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Atkins addressed corporate law matters and disclosure reform issues. Here, we address the Chair’s comments related to disclosure reform. Chair Atkins once again...more
On February 6, 2026, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) issued Regulatory Notice 26-03 (the “Notice”) consolidating guidance on the use of negative consent letters for bulk transfers or assignments of...more
In recent remarks, Commissioner Uyeda provided an update on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s progress toward implementation of the Treasury clearing rule. The Commissioner emphasized the benefits associated with...more
2/12/2026
/ Capital Markets ,
Central Counterparties ,
Clearing Agencies ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Market Participants ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Repurchase Agreements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Financing Transactions (SFTs) ,
Securities Regulation ,
U.S. Treasury
On January 26, 2026, Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda delivered remarks at the 53rd annual Securities Regulation Institute. The Commissioner focused his comments on efforts to improve capital...more
A Structured Products Primer on the Uses of Rule 424(b) and Rule 433 -
Rules 424(b) and Rule 433 under the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) are the two primary filing mechanisms for preliminary offering...more
1/16/2026
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Capital Markets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
ETFs ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Social Media ,
Structured Financial Products
On January 13, 2026, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Atkins released a statement relating to a comprehensive review of Regulation S-K. In the Chair’s statement, he notes that he has asked the Staff of the Division...more
IPOs and Small Public Companies As we noted in our prior post, the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation recently issued its Staff Report for fiscal year 2025, which provides information on the Office’s...more
Asset management vehicles, especially those regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act), are frequently painted with a broad brush and described as having the same or virtually indistinguishable...more
1/13/2026
/ Alternative Investment Funds ,
Asset Management ,
Business Development Companies ,
Closed-End Funds ,
ETFs ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Fees ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Mutual Funds ,
Retail Investors ,
Tender Offers
The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation recently issued its Staff Report for fiscal year 2025, which provides information on the Office’s activities. As do prior reports, this Report provides a...more
1/13/2026
/ Accredited Investors ,
Capital Formation ,
Capital Markets ,
Exemptions ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Funds ,
Private Funds ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation A ,
Regulation CF ,
Regulation D ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
Small Business
In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, the US Congress included an amendment extending the disclosure requirements set forth in Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange...more
On this blog, we have commented quite a number of times regarding a number of trends affecting our capital markets—many of which have been a factor since the early 2000s and which have become more pronounced since the...more
On December 11, 2025, the staff of the Division of Trading and Markets of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a no-action letter to The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) concerning a pilot version (the “Preliminary...more
12/29/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Depository Institutions ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
No-Action Letters ,
Pilot Programs ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Tokens ,
Tokenization
On December 19, 2025, the staff of the Division of Market Participants of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued no-action relief from commodity pool operator (“CPO”) registration for SEC-registered...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate is required by Congress to produce and submit two reports annually to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the...more
This Legal Update summarizes the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2026 calendar year filing deadlines and financial statement staleness dates....more
On December 17, 2025, the Staff of the Division of Trading and Markets (the “Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a statement explaining its views on the application of paragraph (b)(1) of...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) published its 2026 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the “Report”), which builds on the structure and content of FINRA’s prior reports for 2021-2025. This...more
12/18/2025
/ Annual Reports ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cybersecurity ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Risk Management ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Risk
On December 9, 2025, the staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued no-action relief to harmonize how the regulatory requirements for swaps are applied to trades involving certain non-US persons (“NAL...more
12/16/2025
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Derivatives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
International Harmonization ,
Investment Management ,
Margin Requirements ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Swaps
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee met to discuss, among other things, whether to recommend to the SEC that it issue additional disclosure guidance related to artificial...more
On December 5, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission consented to modifications to the Global Research Settlement applicable to settling firms, which has been in place since the aftermath of the dot‑com bubble...more
Earlier this week, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Atkins gave remarks that provided a perspective on measures intended to promote capital formation. Speaking at the New York Stock Exchange, of course, he noted the...more
Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order (the “Order”) that provides a temporary exemption from compliance with the short position and short activity reporting rule (Rule 13f-2 and Form SHO reporting)...more