On 20 April 2022, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published its Policy Statement PS 22/3 on disclosures regarding diversity and inclusion targets for the boards and executive committees of UK-listed companies. These measures reflect the growing importance of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations, and have gained particular traction in the financial services sector,
Regulatory policy
OCC Issues Draft Principles for Climate Risk Management
On December 16, 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued draft principles (the “Proposal”) on the identification and management of climate-related financial risks by OCC-supervised banks with more than $100 billion in total consolidated assets (“covered banks”). The Proposal is intended to provide a high-level framework for the safe and sound…
Federal Banking Agencies Issue Proposed Guidance on Third-Party Risk Management
Posted in FDIC, Federal Reserve, Fintech, OCC, Regulatory Agencies, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management
On Tuesday, July 13, 2021, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, the “Agencies”) invited public comment on proposed interagency guidance on managing risks associated with third-party relationships (the “Proposed Guidance”). By harmonizing for the first time the…
Congress Repeals the OCC’s True Lender Rule
By Matthew Verdin on
On June 30, President Biden signed into law a joint resolution to repeal the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) so-called true lender rule. The rule was repealed under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to repeal new federal regulations by passing a joint resolution of disapproval that must be later signed by the president. Federal regulations repealed under the CRA are treated as if they had never gone into effect.
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OCC Proposes “Fair Access” Requirements for Large Banks
By Karen Solomon on
Posted in Corporate Governance, Rulemakings
On November 20, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued a proposed rule that would impose on large national banks and federal savings associations (collectively, “banks”) a requirement to provide “fair access” to the financial products and services those institutions offer. The proposal is intended to preclude the banks it covers…
Recent Developments on the German Ringfencing Regulation
Posted in Financial Markets, Regulatory Compliance
I. The German Ringfencing Act
As a reaction to the financial crisis in 2007/2008 and to address risks in connection with the “too big to fail” phenomena, the German legislature issued the Ringfencing Act in 2014 (the “Act”).
In a nutshell, the Act forbids big CRR-credit institutions (depending on certain balance sheet thresholds) to engage in proprietary business (Eigengeschäft), proprietary trading (Eigenhandel) and credit/guarantee business with hedge funds (i.e., AIFs whose leverage exceeds three times their NAV).…
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CFTC’s Civil Monetary Penalty Guidance: A Perspective from a Former CFTC Regulator
By Uttara Dukkipati on
On May 20th the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) Division of Enforcement (the “Division”) announced new guidance for Division staff to consider when recommending civil monetary penalties in an enforcement action (the “CMP Guidance” or the “Guidance”). As a former CFTC regulator who brought dozens of cases over a 13 year career in…
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Releases Updated Documentation and Guidance on TALF
Posted in Financial Markets, Regulatory Agencies
On June 8, 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (“FRBNY”) published revised FAQs and three updated transaction documents for the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (“TALF”). The three documents are the (i) Form of Issuer and Sponsor Certification as to TALF Eligibility for ABS, the Form of Indemnity Undertaking for ABS; (ii)…
Federal Reserve Changes Terms of Main Street Lending Program to Expand Borrower Eligibility
On June 8, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board (“Board”) announced changes to its Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”) intended to allow more small and medium-sized businesses to participate in the MSLP. The Board also published updated term sheets for each of the MSLP facilities reflecting these changes; to illustrate how these changes affect the term sheets, we have prepared a blackline of the updated Main Street New Loan Facility (“MSNLF”) term sheet against the most recent prior version released on April 30, 2020. The Board notes that these changes are based on extensive feedback received from potential participants in the MSLP. The announcement does not provide further specifics on the timing of the MSLP launch, but does state that the MSLP will be open for lender registration “soon” and that it will be actively buying loans “shortly afterwards.”
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Federal Reserve Publishes Additional Detail on TALF
On Wednesday, May 20, 2020, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Board”) announced further details on the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (“TALF”). The Board’s announcement contains key documents and forms, including the Master Loan and Security Agreement; updated FAQs and a blackline reflecting changes made against the version published on May 12, 2020; and an initial list of TALF Agents.
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