Regulatory Compliance

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The UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s January 2021 report—entitled “Preventing Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking: An Agenda for Action across the Financial Services Sector” (the “report”)—has concluded that there is a significant lack of awareness of modern slavery risks within the financial services sector (the “sector”).

The Commissioner, Dame Sara Thornton, notes that “modern slavery has been estimated to generate $150 billion in profits annually” constituting “one of the top three international crimes alongside drug trafficking and trade in counterfeit goods.”  The report accordingly calls on the sector to “detect and disrupt this serious organised criminality” and to take proactive steps to mitigate the various risks associated with modern slavery, including financial, regulatory, legal, governance and reputational risks.…

Continue Reading The UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s January 2021 Report: Mitigating Modern Slavery in Financial Services

A heightened focus on green finance and green investments has renewed legislative impetus, culminating in a series of regulatory developments across the European Union and more recently, the UK.  Some of these notable developments encompass green efforts by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures; the European Non-Financial Reporting Directive 2014/95/EU; and the European Commission’s ongoing Sustainable Finance Action Plan.

At the end of December 2019, as part of a package of legislative reforms published by the European Commission (the “Commission”) in March 2018, the EU Regulation on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (Regulation (EU) 2019/2088) (the “Disclosure Regulation”) came into force, with most of its provisions due to take legal effect by March 2021.
Continue Reading Sustainability in Financial Services: The EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and the Taxonomy Regulation

A. Overview

On 20 October 2020, Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 of 7 October 2020 on European crowdfunding service providers for business (“Crowdfunding Regulation”), which applies from 10 November 2021, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. This is the first regulation of crowdfunding services on a European level. Up to now, crowdfunding has been governed under the various national laws of the Member States. A consequence of this is the fragmentation of applicable regulatory regimes which makes the provision of cross-border crowdfunding services almost impossible. The key aim of the Crowdfunding Regulation is to change this position by fostering cross-border crowdfunding services in the Union while at the same time to ensure a high level of investor protection. …
Continue Reading European Crowdfunding Regulation

On 25 January, the UK Treasury launched a wide-ranging Consultation on how to make the UK a more attractive location to set up, manage and administer funds.  The objective being to create a destination which will support a wider range of more efficient investments, better suited to investors’ needs.  The consultation has a deadline for input of 20 April 2021.

The UK Government recognizes that the UK asset management sector is already highly attractive and that the UK is a market leader in portfolio management and fund administration. These activities are key to the management of the savings and pensions of millions of people.

The Consultation stresses the UK Government’s continued commitment to supporting portfolio delegation from and to the UK as a means to promote market efficiency, investor choice and to reflect the international nature of financial markets.…

Continue Reading UK Government Consultation on the UK Funds Network

As a reminder, the UK Treasury (HMT) published its Consultation on the Second Phase of the Future Regulatory Framework Review (FRFR) in October 2020.  The Consultation is open for input until 19 February 2021.

The FRFR aims to set out how the UK’s financial services regulatory framework should change in light of the UK’s exit from the EU. The Government seeks to use the UK’s departure from the EU as an impetus to create a more coherent financial services regulation system in the UK.

Content of Review

Phase I of the Review focused on the question of coordination between the regulatory authorities in the UK. The Second Phase tackles the wider regulatory structure in the UK’s financial services – it is on this element that HMT is consulting, with a view to ascertaining the shape of a blueprint which will be the subject of a further consultation exercise later in 2021.…

Continue Reading Review of the Future Regulatory Framework

On January 19, 2021, the Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, OCC, FinCEN, and NCUA (collectively, the “federal agencies”) issued answers to frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) regarding suspicious activity reports (“SARs”) and other anti-money laundering (“AML”) considerations for financial institutions subject to SAR requirements in response to recent recommendations from the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group. The FAQs state that they are intended to assist financial institutions with their AML compliance obligations, and do not have the force of law or create any new supervisory expectations. …
Continue Reading Federal Agencies Jointly Release Responses to FAQs on SARs and Other AML Considerations

On January 19, 2021, the FDIC’s Board of Directors approved revised Guidelines for Appeals of Material Supervisory Determinations (the “Guidelines”), which are applicable to insured depository institutions (“IDIs”) the FDIC supervises as well as other IDIs for which the FDIC makes material supervisory determinations. The FDIC stated that the amendments are intended to: (1) improve the independence of appeals decisions via the implementation of an independent, standalone office—the Office of Supervisory Appeals (the “Office”)—that will replace the existing Supervision Appeals Review Committee (the “SARC”); and (2) clarify the procedures and timeframes applicable to appeals, including those relating to formal enforcement actions.
Continue Reading FDIC Adopts Revised Guidelines for Appeals of Material Supervisory Determinations

On December 18, 2020, the OCC released a new interpretation of the statutory standards and requirements for federal preemption of state consumer financial laws that were enacted as part of the Dodd-Frank Act. Section 1044 of Dodd-Frank, codified at 12 U.S.C. § 25b, contains both substantive and procedural preemption provisions.  The OCC’s Interpretive Letter…

On January 4, 2021, the OCC issued a proposed rule codifying standards governing a national bank’s or federal savings association’s investment in real estate used, or to be used, as bank premises.  Specifically, the proposed rule would revise 12 C.F.R. § 7.1024 in order to create a more transparent and consistent set of principles for evaluating the acquisition and use of  national bank and federal savings association premises.
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Continue Reading OCC Proposes Rule Codifying Standards for Investment in Bank Premises

On January 1, 2021, the Senate voted to override President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (the “NDAA” or “Act”), which includes over 200 pages of significant reforms to the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and other anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws that have been working their way through Congress for several years.  The Senate’s…