Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 8, 2024 @ 1:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the new Small Business Advocate – a role that has been vacant for some time now. The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation was created by legislation that was signed into law in 2016…. Read More

January 8, 2024 @ 11:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dennis M. Kelleher, Co-founder, President, and CEO, issued the following statement on the filing of Better Markets’ Supplemental Comment Letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in response “to multiple proposed rule changes filed by national securities exchanges seeking to list and trade shares… Read More

January 8, 2024 @ 10:35 am By JD Alois  |  

New cybersecurity rules are kicking in this week for the European Union. The regulation establishes an “internal cybersecurity risk management, governance and control framework for each Union entity, and sets up a new Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board (IICB) to monitor and support its implementation by Union… Read More

January 8, 2024 @ 9:21 am By JD Alois  |  

This past Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed an enforcement action that was initially filed last October. According to the SEC, it received a temporary restraining order, an asset freeze, and other relief to halt an ongoing fraud targeting the Indian community that… Read More

January 8, 2024 @ 8:21 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed fines on three money transfer firms after they admitted to fixing prices charged to consumers in Glasgow, Scotland. Dollar East (International Travel & Money Transfer) Ltd; Hafiz Bros Travel & Money Transfer Limited; and LCC Trans-Sending… Read More

January 6, 2024 @ 10:22 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

The American Fintech Council (AFC) has responded to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) notice on the proposed rulemaking on personal financial data rights related to Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Their letter was posted on Jan. 2. The AFC said the CFPB’s implementation… Read More

January 6, 2024 @ 8:22 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is taking steps to ensure folks maintain access to physical currency in an increasingly digital society. The agency proposed new rules to maintain reasonable access to cash for personal and business customers across the UK. This follows new… Read More

January 5, 2024 @ 12:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

On Monday, January 8, 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) will hold a meeting to discuss several topics of note. According to the Agenda, the CFTC TAC will cover the use of Artificial Intelligence [AI], blockchain in regard to DeFi, and… Read More

January 5, 2024 @ 9:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital securities are broadly acknowledged as the future of all securities. Yet, progress has been slow for regulators around the world to craft the needed rules to enable digital to replace existing analog securities. The advent of distributed ledger technology (DLT), or blockchains, is expected… Read More

January 3, 2024 @ 5:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Two House Financial Services Committee subcommittees have scheduled hearings for next week. The Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion Subcommittee has scheduled a Hearing Entitled: “Regulatory Whiplash: Examining the Impact of FSOC’s Ever-Changing Designation Framework on Innovation.” FSOC, or the Financial Stability Oversight Council, involves… Read More

January 3, 2024 @ 1:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Commissioner Mark Uyeda has been sworn in for a second term at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). His previous term expired in 2023, and now Uyeda may remain at the SEC until 2028. Uyeda is one of two Republican Commissioners – the other being… Read More

January 2, 2024 @ 11:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced that the New York State Department of Financial Services adopted guidance for New York State-regulated banking and mortgage institutions in order “to help them manage their material financial and operational risks associated with climate change.” Governor Hochul said: “Climate change… Read More

January 2, 2024 @ 9:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Justice Department sued Colony Ridge, a Texas-based developer and lender, for allegedly “operating an illegal land sales scheme and targeting tens of thousands of Hispanic borrowers with false statements and predatory loans.” The lawsuit filed in federal… Read More

January 1, 2024 @ 8:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) seeks public consultation on draft amendments to the “Key Principles of Governance in Financial Institutions under the control and supervision of the Saudi Central Bank.” In this context, SAMA invites stakeholders to “provide suggestions and observations on the draft by… Read More

December 31, 2023 @ 6:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a civil penalty of $3.9 million on Credit Suisse AG, for its alleged failure “to prevent or detect misconduct by its relationship managers (RMs) in the Singapore branch.” The RMs had allegedly provided clients “with inaccurate or… Read More

December 29, 2023 @ 5:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Gavin Wood, an Ethereum co-founder who has focused on Polkadot noted that we are seeing a global return to normalcy and resurgence of (in-person) events with it (even though various of COVID still seem to be affecting a significant number of people despite vaccinations being… Read More

December 29, 2023 @ 1:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Online capital formation became legal following the approval of the JOBS Act of 2012. Signed into law by President Obama, the bipartisan legislation sought to make it easier for firms to raise money from both accredited and non-accredited investors. While the bill was signed into… Read More

December 29, 2023 @ 10:44 am By JD Alois  |  

The Digital Asset Anti Money Laundering Act (S. 2669) is pending legislation that aims to stymie bad actors’ use of crypto to cover their tracks. The bill was introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren, a well-known digital asset skeptic. Warren sits on the Senate Banking Committee,… Read More

December 29, 2023 @ 10:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The AMF is warning the public against several companies proposing atypical investments without being authorised to do so. The Autorité des Marchés Financiers regularly “updates its black lists of new websites and entities proposing atypical investments to investors in France without being authorized to do… Read More

December 28, 2023 @ 9:53 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi has issued a statement on the agency’s key achievements in the past couple of years. The update is part of a three-year strategy by the FCA to support financial services development while providing ample protection…. Read More