Politics, Legal & Regulation

Policy and regulations impacting innovations in Finance.

NASAA & Congress Agree on Intrastate Crowdfunding Rule Update

Last week, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) issued a statement in support of updating Rule 147 and Rule 504 of Reg D – rules that impact intrastate crowdfunding.  The statement by NASAA supported a letter sent out by several members of the Congress… Read More

Shocker: Elizabeth Warren Tells President Obama to Demote SEC Chair Mary Joe White

Senator Elizabeth Warren is rattling cages once again. This time, she is blasting SEC Chair Mary Jo White asking President Obama to fire or demote Chair White in a public letter. According to her letter, Warren states, “enough is enough” that Chair White has undermined… Read More

UK Government Reports UK Businesses at Record High Count

The UK government is reporting the number of private sector businesses is at an all-time high.  The report stated the number of businesses hit 5.5 million – a new record. At the beginning of 2016, there were one million more small businesses, 4000 more medium… Read More

Lord Adair Turner: Direct Lending May Make the Financial System More Stable

  The answer is keep it simple, and  keep it transparent. The above statement came from Lord Adair Turner in a speech delivered at LendIt Europe this week. He was reflecting upon how peer to peer lending can avoid situations of systemic risk as exemplified… Read More

Federal Court Calls CFPB Structure Unconstitutional

The Consumer and Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been labeled “unconstitutional” by a federal appeals court.  The ruling addressed specifically the agency’s structure and the amount of control exercised by its director – currently Richard Cordray.  The ruling allows for the CFPB to continue to… Read More

Lord Adair Softens Stance Towards Peer to Peer Lending at LendIt

Lord Adair, the former FSA Chair and longtime banker, sideswiped the UK online lending industry last year during an interview on BBC.  Adair criticized the peer to peer lending industry in a blistering statement regarding disruptive online lenders; “The losses which will emerge from peer-to-peer… Read More

The Regulatory Framework for Peer-to-Peer Lending Industry in Thailand : A Consultation Paper Issued by the Bank of Thailand

The Peer-to-Peer Lending Industry in Thailand Peer-to-peer lending, which is also known as social lending or crowdlending, has drastically increased in the recent years in many countries around the world. The total volume of peer-to-peer lending activities has been growing rapidly. A good example is… Read More

UK P2P Finance Association Releases Major Research on Economics of Peer to Peer Lending

The UK Peer to Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) has released a commissioned study on the economics of the peer to peer lending market in the UK.  The independent assessment, provided by the economic consulting firm of Oxera, analysed the risks, costs and benefits of peer-to-peer… Read More

State of the States: An Intrastate Crowdfunding Update

While I have kept both my statutory summary pages and comparative summaries relatively up to date, it has been quite a while since I have done an editorial update on Intrastate Crowdfunding. With the increased number of active Intrastate regulations, as well as the growing… Read More

Congressman Patrick McHenry: “I will continue to work on the three Fintech bills I’ve now introduced”

Congressman Patrick McHenry is in his sixth term in the US Congress where he represents the citizens of North Carolina’s 10th District. McHenry is also the Chief Deputy Whip, where he assists Majority Whip Steve Scalise in rallying the GOP members to support important legislative… Read More

SEC Schedules Annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will host its 2016 Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation on Thursday, November 17, 2016, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the SEC headquarters at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The 2016 Forum will include… Read More

Monetary Authority of Singapore to Partner With Polytechnics to Enhance Fintech Skills

The government of Singapore has made Fintech an important part of their future economic growth. The island city-state has always punched above its weight economically and policy makers are moving quickly to establish Singapore as the Asian hub for financial innovation. Today the Monetary Authority… Read More

SEC ACSEC Meeting Agenda for October 5th

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the agenda for the Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies (ACSEC) meeting scheduled for October 5th. The Committee will be reviewing regulation S‑K disclosure requirements, research regarding corporate board diversity, and outreach to smaller companies about… Read More

Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Holds Standout Inaugural Conference

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) held its inaugural conference at Cambridge University this past week engaging in a wide range of topics covering the world of alternative finance. A distinguished cadre of policy makers, platform operators, and academicians descended upon Downing College to… Read More

Brian Korn Says CFPB on the Offensive with CashCall Action & More

Brian Korn, a prominent attorney in the alternative finance sector, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is on the offensive. Korn pointed to recent settlements with LendUp and CashCall as indicative of its aggressive approach towards financial service enforcement. At the end of 2013,… Read More

Here is the Bank of England Document on the Central Bank Issuing Digital Currency

The advent of digital currencies and blockchain technology has engendered great consternation and interest from policy makers around the world. The concept of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies may be the next step in fiat currency. Having made the leap from barter to coins and then… Read More

CFPB Orders LendUp to Pay-up $3.63 Million in Refunds & Penalties

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered LendUp to pay approximately $1.83 million in refunds and pay a civil penalty of $1.8 million. The enforcement action was taken as the “online lender did not help consumers build credit or access cheaper loans” as the… Read More

FCA & Cambridge University Partner to Review UK Alternative Finance

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) have formed a unique partnership to assist in the review of the UK alternative finance industry. The first joint project will inform the FCA’s ongoing post-implementation review of crowdfunding regulation which is in… Read More

Status Quo is Not an Option: OSC Chair Acknowledges Fintech Requires New Approach, Announces OSC Launchpad

Speaking at the Toronto Region Board of Trade this week, Maureen Jensen, Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) Chair and CEO, delivered a wide-ranging keynote address that tackled the topic of Fintech, regulations and announced a forthcoming regulatory Sandbox for entrepreneurs. Jensen acknowledged the rise of Fintech… Read More

SEC Schedules Fintech Forum to Foster Understanding & Collaboration

The Securities and Exchange Commission has scheduled a public forum to tackle the topic of Fintech – a wide ranging term that deals with innovation in the financial services sector fueled by recent improvements in technology. The event will take place at SEC headquarters on… Read More

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