As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, market volatility, workplace disruptions and a shuttering of everyday life are becoming increasingly commonplace. While the 2021 LIBOR phase-out may not seem top of mind during the current crisis, speculation is mounting about whether the pandemic will delay or otherwise alter the phasing out of the “world’s most
On July 22, 2019, the federal bank regulatory agencies and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (collectively, the “Agencies”), issued a Joint Statement on Risk-Focused Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Supervision. The Joint Statement emphasizes their risk-focused approach to examinations of banks’ BSA/AML compliance programs and is the third statement
On August 2, 2017, United States Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) jointly introduced Senate Bill 1717, entitled the “Corporate Transparency Act of 2017” (the “Act”). The Act was referred to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. The Act would amend Title 31 of the United States Code, to
Today, the SEC announced the adoption of amendments to several rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and to Form ADV, the investment adviser registration and reporting form. Although there is a long lead-in time to get in compliance with the new rules and Form ADV, advisers should consider beginning work now to
As robo-advisers continue to grow in popularity with investors, especially millennial investors, at least one regulator is taking a closer look. On July 14, 2016, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin issued a policy statement addressing the use by investment advisers under his jurisdiction of third-party robo-advisers. This follows a similar policy statement by
Sarao, Coscia, and now the Berkshire Power Company, each charged with crimes – spoofing, fraud, false information – relating to commodity trading. Commodity traders likely have incorporated into their compliance regimes the general risk that allegations of criminal fraud could arise. These criminal matters no longer appear to be isolated instances and, instead, counsel for
In connection with the Press Release announcing a Rule Proposal regarding adoption of written business continuity and transition plans by SEC-registered investment advisers (see our blog post on the topic), the Division of Investment Management also distributed a Guidance Update (No. 2016-04) discussing BCPs for registered investment companies (RICs). RICs have been expected to address
On June 23, 2016 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) hosted the Forum on Responsible Innovation in the Federal Banking System in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of industry stakeholders gathered to discuss “Responsible Innovation,” fintech, and the role of the OCC in regulating the financial industry as it evolves. The forum addressed reaction
FINRA has sent a sweep letter to selected broker dealers in order to learn more about how firms “establish, communicate and implement cultural values,” and whether those values are guiding business conduct. FINRA conducts sweeps like this periodically in order to gather information that it can then use in focusing its regulatory response to emerging or priority issues, and it specifically identified “firm culture” as an area of emphasis in its 2016 examination priorities letter. Although the concept of firm culture was left undefined in the exam priorities letter, FINRA noted in the sweep letter that “one definition” of firm culture is “the set of explicit and implicit norms, practices and expected behaviors that influence how employees make and carry out decisions in the course of conducting the firms’ business.” The sweep letter appears designed to investigate what those norms and practices look like at present in the industry, as the regulator has expressed its desire to “better understand industry practices” and to “determine whether firms are taking reasonable steps to properly establish and implement their own cultural values within the firm.” The issuance of the sweep letter appears to be FINRA’s first step towards what it described in the exam priorities letter as “formalizing” its assessment of firm culture.
As part of its review, FINRA will meet with executives, compliance and legal personnel and risk management staff at a small number of brokerage firms to discuss cultural values and how those firms communicate and reinforce their values within their organizations. FINRA is “particularly interested” in how individual firms measure compliance with their own cultural values, what metrics (if any) are used, and how the firms “monitor for implementation and consistent application of those values” throughout the organization. In advance of those meetings, FINRA has asked the firms selected for the targeted exam to provide it with a significant amount of thought-provoking information, including:
Continue Reading FINRA Seeks Input From Brokerage Firms on ‘Cultural Values’
On Jan. 11, 2016, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its annual Examinations Priorities for 2016 (Exam Priorities), which is available for download here. In the Exam Priorities, OCIE notes that its priorities focus on the same three thematic areas as in 2015