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On Friday, the leaders of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued a “Joint Statement on Activities Involving Digital Assets” (the “Joint Statement”).  The Joint Statement serves as a reminder that businesses engaged in activities involving digital assets – or, as they are sometimes called, virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies – should be attentive to their anti-money laundering (“AML”) obligations, including under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”).

The Joint Statement notes that the BSA requires “financial institutions” to:  (1) establish and implement an effective AML program; and (2) comply with certain recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including the filing of suspicious activity reports (“SARs”).  These requirements apply not just to a financial institution’s traditional lines of businesses, but also to its businesses involving digital assets.…

Continue Reading Leaders of the SEC, CFTC, and FinCEN Issue Joint Statement Emphasizing AML Obligations for Digital Asset Activities

On Monday, September 16, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC” or the “Commission”) announced that it has approved final regulations (the “final rule”) that will streamline and clarify the Volcker Rule – a statutory provision that generally prohibits banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading, or from taking an ownership interest in, sponsoring, or having certain other relationships with hedge funds or private equity funds (collectively “covered funds”).  The final rule has already been approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, but remains to be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. …
Continue Reading CFTC Becomes Third Federal Financial Regulator to Approve Volcker Rule Reforms

On May 21, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued guidance to national securities exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) (referred to as “SROs”) clarifying the SEC’s expectations with respect to their market data fees. These guidelines clarify enhanced standards for SROs to increase their fees for products and services, including fees for market data and connections, which has become a significant revenue source for data providers.
Continue Reading SEC Issues Guidance on Changes to Stock Exchange Fees for Market Data and Connections

[This article was also published in Law360]

Despite enduring the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement filed more cases in the first six months of this fiscal year than in the same period last year. From October 2018 through the end of March, the division filed 216 new “stand-alone” actions,[1] compared to just 149 during the first six months of FY 2018.

This increase was largely due to 79 cases filed on a single day in March against investment advisers for alleged disclosure failures relating to conflicts of interests associated with certain mutual fund fees. With the addition of these cases, enforcement actions against investment advisers made up nearly 50% of all cases filed so far this fiscal year.

Excluding the 79 March settlements from the half-year results, the division filed only 137 stand-alone enforcement actions — 12 fewer than at the same point last year, though perhaps more in line with our expectations, considering the time lost during the shutdown.

Overview of FY 2019 Enforcement

Despite bringing fewer cases involving broker dealer misconduct, insider trading and public finance abuse, the division is outpacing its FY 2018 results in the areas of issuer reporting/audit and accounting, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and, as mentioned above, investment adviser misconduct.

The division is also close to where it was in FY 2018 with respect to market manipulation cases, just 10% off last year’s pace. Below is a chart comparing this year’s performance to FY 2018. For a comprehensive analysis of FY 2018, see our earlier article here.

As the chart above shows, the government shutdown assuredly had a negative impact on several program areas. Every enforcement area but investment adviser misconduct, FCPA and issuer reporting/audit and accounting has seen a decline relative to the same period last year. Most notable is the decline in securities offering cases, which had increased each of the past two years.

Nevertheless, some enforcement activity continued during the shutdown and even a few enforcement actions were brought. According to Chairman Clayton,[2] during the shutdown, the SEC “focused on monitoring the functioning of our markets and, as necessary to prevent imminent threats to property, taking action.” That action involved filing only 10 new cases during the lull.

Notably, during the shutdown, the division sued nine individuals and entities accused of hacking into the SEC’s EDGAR system — the electronic portal used by the public to make SEC filings — in 2016. The defendants purportedly accessed the system to extract nonpublic information for use in illegal trading.

Before the shutdown, the SEC brought several significant cases against public companies for disclosure violations and fraudulent or otherwise deficient financial statements or internal controls. Once the shutdown ended, the agency picked up where it left off, ending with 20% more cases in these areas than during the same period last year.

In addition to significant cases against the Hertz Corporation,[3] Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc.[4] and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft,[5] the SEC punctuated those efforts with two mini-sweeps — one addressing alleged longstanding but unaddressed internal controls failures and another focused on alleged failures to disclose that required quarterly reviews by external auditors had not occurred.…

Continue Reading SEC Has Been Busy in FY 2019

For several years Swap Dealers registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) have been awaiting action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) related to security-based swap dealers.  While the wait is by no means over, on October 11, 2018 the SEC voted 4 to 1 to reopen the comment period for proposed rules…

The enforcement and regulatory priorities of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have begun to come into focus now that SEC Chairman Jay Clayton has been in office for over a year. Courts have also issued decisions that will significantly impact securities enforcement moving forward.

This practice note discusses the Supreme Court’s recent decision holding…

A recent United States Supreme Court case and new executive order will change the way federal agencies hire administrative law judges (“ALJs”), and together are expected to increase ALJs’ accountability to the heads of their agencies. On June 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court held in Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission that the…

On February 21, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) approved a statement and interpretive guidance that provides the Commission’s views on a public company’s disclosure obligations concerning cybersecurity risks and incidents (the “2018 Commission Guidance”). This guidance reinforces and expands upon previous cybersecurity disclosure guidance issued by the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”) in October 2011  (the “2011 Staff Guidance”).  The 2018 Commission Guidance also focuses on two additional issues: (i) maintenance of comprehensive policies and procedures related to cybersecurity, including sufficient disclosure controls and procedures, and (ii) insider trading in the cybersecurity context.
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Continue Reading SEC Adopts New Guidance on Public Company Cybersecurity Disclosures and Insider Trading