The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) on April 2 published its statistical analysis and list of COVID-19 continuing disclosures filed by municipal issuers during the first quarter of 2020. Of 43,667 disclosures,...more
On March 27, securities regulator FINRA extended its previous postponement of in-person hearings from May 1 through May 31. FINRA also will offer virtual hearing options (including Zoom) by agreement or panel order....more
SEC Enforcement Co-Directors Stephanie Avakian and Steven Peiken issued a March 23 public statement warning that the novel Coronavirus pandemic increases material non-public information and reminding corporate insiders of...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has filed its first criminal action against fraudulent activity taking advantage of the novel coronavirus pandemic....more
The New York Stock Exchange announced today that it will activate its Business Continuity Plan, temporarily closing its equities and options (Amer and Arca) trading floors....more
The SEC has gathered its guidance in a single location. Topics covered include:
(a) The SEC’s own Business Continuity Plan (“BCP”) and its implementation;
(b) Increased market monitoring and surveillance...more
3/20/2020
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivatives ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Event Cancellation ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment ,
MSRB ,
Public Meetings ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Massachusetts Securities Division adopted a watered-down fiduciary-rule for broker-dealers, effective March 6, with a compliance deadline of September 1, 2020....more
Paxos Settlement Service announced February 20, 2020 that it has commenced P2P settlement of US listed equity trades over a private, permissioned blockchain with Credit Suisse and Instinet (a Nomura Bank subsidiary). Paxos...more
This week FINRA issued Reg. Notice 20-08 on “Pandemic-Related Business Continuity Planning, Guidance and Regulatory Relief.”...more
3/12/2020
/ Business Continuity Plans ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Telecommuting
Former Louisiana deputy sheriff and Russian resident Steven Seagal agreed to a Cease and Desist (“C&D”) Order by the SEC, finding violations of the non-touting provisions of Securities Act § 17(b) and imposing civil penalties...more
3/4/2020
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Influencers ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
OCIE ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Social Media ,
Token Sales
This winter has seen insider-trading trending – and not just because President Trump pardoned Michael Milken. In sequence, several legislative proposals have been working their way through Congress, the Second Circuit...more
2/28/2020
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Misappropriation ,
Personal Benefit ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Wire Fraud
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce earlier this month proposed a draft SEC Rule 195 as a safe-harbor for developmental token offerings, providing a registration exemption for three-years to allow the token’s network to achieve...more
2/27/2020
/ Exemptions ,
Offerings ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Safe Harbors ,
SEC Commissioner ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
FINRA held its bi-annual Cybersecurity Conference in January and recently published five take-away real-world experiences from the conference...more
2/27/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Management ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Hackers ,
Information Governance ,
Information Security ,
Information Technology ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Liquidity Management ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
OCIE ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Regulation BI ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vulnerability Assessments
FINRA issued a targeted-exam letter on February 20, 2020 seeking information on the effect of zero-commission trading upon compliance with related obligations of Best Execution, payment for order flow, and non-commission...more
2/26/2020
/ Best Execution ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Charles Schwab ,
E*Trade ,
Fees ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Industry Examinations ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Sales Commissions ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
TD Ameritrade ,
Trading Policies ,
Wealth Management
In a July 30 speech in Singapore, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce compared renegade red pandas’ penchant for life “outside the fence” to the fin-tech innovation currently frustrating regulators’ efforts to keep up....more
Last week, the SEC’s Corporate Finance division issued its second no-action letter supporting a digital token issue. On July 25, 2019, the Staff agreed it would not recommend enforcement action over the issuance of Quarters...more
The IRS this week announced that it is the process of sending out 10,000 letters during the next month, reminding taxpayers with crypto-currency accounts about their tax obligations arising from such transactions....more
June 20, 2019 – Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and its subsidiary, WMT Brasilia, agreed to a combined criminal penalty and disgorgement of $282M, together with WMT’s criminal guilty plea and undertakings in an NPA, to reach a global...more
6/21/2019
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Sanctions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Internal Controls ,
Popular ,
Retailers ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Third-Party ,
Wal-Mart
The SEC recently issued an investor alert warning about crypto advisory and trading websites. The alert cautions investors to be especially wary of web-based crypto-currency sites with any...more
5/8/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Indictments ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trading Platforms ,
Websites ,
Wire Fraud
Last week, the D.C. Circuit held that the SEC can’t prosecute the same conduct as both willful and as negligent under the tandem sections found in most of the nation’s securities laws. The ruling prevents the SEC from piling...more
Late last week, the SEC issued a no-action letter widely hailed as its first on a blockchain-based digital token for private jet services. ...more
Last week, the Supreme Court held that knowing distributors of another’s false statements still could be primarily liable under parts of Rule 10b-5, even though they didn’t “make” the statements under prior precedent....more
4/2/2019
/ Appeals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Fines ,
Intent to Defraud ,
Investment Banks ,
Lorenzo v SEC ,
Material Dissemination ,
Misleading Statements ,
Reaffirmation ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Suspensions
This week, the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a letter seeking industry and public input on custody issues arising from digital assets....more
Last week, SEC Enforcement staff lost a bid for a preliminary injunction against a prospective ICO in its pre-offering testing phase....more
12/3/2018
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
Last Friday, November 16, the SEC issued a pair of settled actions setting a de facto standard of compliance for unregistered ICOs wanting to “come in from the cold.” In each of them, the ICO offeror paid a $250,000 monetary...more