Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
2/15/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
Mandatory central clearing is coming to the US Treasury market. Citing the many virtues of clearing — mitigation of the "overall amount of counterparty credit risk," centralized default management, multilateral netting of...more
Attached please find the updated Foreign Listed Stock Index Futures and Options Approvals Chart, current as of December 19, 2023. All prior versions are superseded and should be discarded. Please note the following...more
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proposed to lessen a blanket restriction on the investment of customer funds in all non-United States sovereign debt instruments that was imposed on future commission...more
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
10/24/2023
/ CFTC ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
Aristotle cites the “tragelaph” (the mythical “goat-stag”) as an example of how a concept can have meaning without existing. A “security future” is the US financial system’s “goat-stag”: a concept packed with meaning but...more
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
9/18/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
China ,
Cryptoassets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fund Managers ,
Loans ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
As US interest rates rose in 2022, the value of bank investments in long-dated and fixed-rate bonds declined. These declines were substantial enough to render many banks economically insolvent. Depositors not inclined to...more
The CFTC has proposed rules codifying the staff no-action relief of CFTC Letter 19-17 (thrice-renewed since, pending these rules). I’ve written about the “long and winding road” by which we got to this momentous juncture;...more
Much has been, and remains to be, written on the SEC’s recent proposal to replace the custody rule for registered investment advisers with a new “safekeeping” rule. The implications are indeed far-reaching for registered...more
Last month, Euronext published a notice to clients that will be of interest to US broker-dealers and FCMs who facilitate client execution and clearing of futures contracts listed on Euronext. The notice advises that from 20...more
Thankfully, futures clearinghouses do not fail often; it’s happened three times in history, most recently in 1987. But last year, in the first week of March, the clearinghouse of the London Metal Exchange, LME Clear, had an...more
Recently the CFTC settled an administrative proceeding with an FCM that FCM risk managers will want to examine closely.
The settlement relates to allegations (among others) that the FCM violated CFTC Rules 1.11 and...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
12/14/2022
/ Block Trades ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Personal Data ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
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
SEC Advertising Rules – Client Resource Center -
November 4 was the compliance date for the new rule governing advertising and solicitation activities by investment advisers. The new rule substantially revises decades old...more
11/14/2022
/ Advertising ,
Cybersecurity ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Investment Adviser ,
New York ,
Outsourcing ,
Pay Transparency ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
WhatsApp
In September 2021 CFTC staff issued an advisory (Letter 21-19) “reminding entities” of SEF registration requirements. The “entities” specifically in scope of the reminder, per that advisory, were those: (1) facilitating...more
Recently the CME settled disciplinary matters (and the CFTC simultaneously settled a separate enforcement proceeding) with a trader and the introducing broker of which the trader was a principal, involving allegations of...more
SEC to Inspect Firms for Compliance With New Advertising and Solicitation Rule -
November 4 is the compliance date for the new rule governing advertising and solicitation activities by investment advisers. The new rule...more
10/13/2022
/ Advertising ,
B2B Transactions ,
Bribery ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Energy Market ,
EU ,
Foreign Investment ,
Joint Audit Committee ,
National Security ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
Citing “current liquidity pressures” in EU energy markets and the need to provide market participants with “more options regarding the assets they provide to the Clearing House as margin cover,” ICE Clear Europe has proposed...more
Once, many years ago, the Joint Audit Committee released a Regulatory Alert (RA 14-03) addressed to futures commission merchants that are clearing members of derivatives clearing organizations registered with the CFTC, which...more
The SEC Remains in Search of and Is Looking for Finders -
Much has been written on the topic of finders and arrangers of securities transactions, including when a person or entity acting as a finder (i.e., someone who...more