On January 16th, the IRS published Announcement 2024-4 (the “Announcement”), postponing certain reporting requirements for large crypto transactions which were set to go into effect for the 2024 tax year. Persons engaged in...more
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) recently announced in a circular its expected standards for the sale and distribution of green and sustainable investment products by registered institutions (RIs). This is to ensure...more
On November 20, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) instituted a civil enforcement action against Kraken, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange. The SEC alleged Kraken operated as an unregistered broker, dealer,...more
On October 6, 2023, Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), gave a speech at the Brookings Institute’s “Payments in a Digital Century” event. In his prepared remarks, Chopra frankly...more
On 14 September 2023, the European Commission published a targeted consultation and a public consultation on the implementation of Regulation (“EU”) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services...more
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”), a non-regulatory governmental agency that focuses upon the technological aspects of a wide variety of products and services, mostly non-financial in nature,...more
♫"Summertime and the living is easy"♫ or at least we hope it is for our growing readership. Our Explainer Things team is spicing up your consumer finance news with pop culture – Dua Lipa, The Big Lebowski, The Police, and The...more
Cryptocurrency companies face a steadily growing number of lawsuits, adding to a list of recent headaches for their industry. That list includes steep recent declines in investment value and a high probability of new...more
On July 4, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) updated the “next steps” section on its webpage on the discussion paper on Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and investment labels (DP21/4). In its discussion...more
The digital asset industry has now met the regulatory state. Those interested in building digital asset businesses that operate in the United States thus need to be aware of a vital tool for resisting regulatory overreach by...more
Given the continued popularity of recommending wrap fee programs to clients, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Division of Examinations (“DOE”) recently released a Risk Alert dated July 21, 2021, wherein it...more
FCA found instances of non-compliance with the product governance rules which, in its view, increases the risk of investor harm. Background - On 26 February 2021, the FCA published a webpage setting out eight asset...more
Brexit: HM Treasury responds to questions on post-Brexit future relationship in financial services - The House of Lords EU Services Sub-Committee has published a letter it has received from John Glen, Economic Secretary...more
The introduction to my last two posts, SECURE Act Part 1 and SECURE Act Part 2, explained: There are two parts of the SECURE Act that I believe will have the greatest impact on my clients: plan sponsors and plan service...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on June 5 adopted Regulation Best Interest: The Broker-Dealer Standard of Conduct (“Reg BI”), which requires that broker-dealers act in the “best interest” of their “retail...more
On June 5, 2019, the SEC adopted a package of rules and interpretations (the Adopted Rules) to clarify and further articulate the relationship between retail investors and their broker-dealers or investment advisers....more
At yesterday's open meeting, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a final Regulation Best Interest, as well as additional guidance. Final action relating to the broker-dealer standard of conduct had been...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission posted an Open Meeting Agenda for June 5, 2019, when the Commission will vote on whether to adopt Regulation Best Interest, the related Form CRS Relationship Summary and a standard of...more
Many of our financial services sector clients have indicated their need to keep track of updates on new laws and regulations amid a rapidly changing regulatory landscape in Hong Kong. ...more
FINRA’s reported enforcement actions as to certain variable annuity practices increased in 2018. For example, FINRA announced more than half a dozen settlements – via Letters of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWCs) – for...more
After allowing registration and transfer of unlisted securities through distributed ledgers in 2017 and drafting legislation for initial coin offerings (ICOs) earlier this year, France is contemplating the introduction of a...more
The Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (MLD5) entered into force in July 2018. MLD5 updates the legal framework under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (MLD4) and must be implemented by the EU member states by...more
U.S. Financial Industry Developments - CFTC Reduces Risk for Customer Funds Held by Derivatives Clearing Organizations by Expanding Investment Options - On July 19, 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier this week announced that it was disbanding the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established under the Obama Administration. ...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 18, 2018 published a package of proposed rules and interpretations intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide greater clarity regarding customers’...more