The no-action relief applies to family offices with at least US$50 million in total assets (Institutional Family Offices) and requires broker-dealers seeking to rely on the relief to establish and maintain specific additional policies and procedures. By Dana G. Fleischman, Stephen P. Wink, Naim Culhaci, and Deric Behar On December 23, 2020, the Staff of … Continue Reading
FCA’s Stephen Hanks discusses onshoring and how to ensure regulatory compliance before the year’s end. With the end of the Brexit transition period looming, many financial services firms are asking what they need to do between now and the end of the year to ensure regulatory compliance. In this episode of Connected With Latham, Anne … Continue Reading
Equivalence decisions for EEA states, green finance and fintech initiatives are at the forefront of the UK government’s priorities. By Rob Moulton, Anne Mainwaring, and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 9 November 2020, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivered a statement setting out plans for the start of a new chapter for UK financial … Continue Reading
In its finalized rule amending ERISA, the DOL makes financial factors paramount in a fiduciary’s responsibility to investors. By Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Kristina S. Wyatt, and Deric Behar On October 30, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments (the Rule) and a related Fact Sheet, a … Continue Reading
The UK government has proposed amendments to the UK PRIIPs regime with performance information in the KID to differ from the EU “performance scenario” requirement. By Nicola Higgs and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 30 July 2020, HM Treasury published a policy statement on amendments to the Packaged Retail Investment and Insurance-based Products (PRIIPs) Regulation. The policy … Continue Reading
Many of the wide ranging amendments address the perceived barriers MiFID II introduced in capital markets and are likely to be welcomed by industry. By Nicola Higgs, Anne Mainwaring, Gabriel Lakeman and Anna Lewis-Martinez The European Commission (the Commission) has adopted a legislative proposal for a directive amending Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments … Continue Reading
The SEC proposes a significant increase in the 13F reporting threshold from US$100 million to US$3.5 billion. By Stephen P. Wink, Naim Culhaci, Jacqueline Marie Rugart, and Deric Behar On July 10, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a proposed rule amendment to increase the Form 13F reporting threshold from US$100 million to … Continue Reading
The measures grant relief for EU banks to enhance bank lending to companies and households. By Axel Schiemann and Dominik Schöneberger On 18 June 2020, the European Parliament approved the so-called CRR “quick fix” to Regulation (EU) 575/2013 (Capital Requirement Regulation (CRR)) and Regulation 2019/876 (Capital Requirement Regulation 2 (CRR2)) to mitigate the economic consequences … Continue Reading
The European Commission has published its long awaited report that assesses the application and scope of AIFMD. By Carl Fernandes and Kishore Bhindi On 10 June 2020, the European Commission published a report assessing the application and scope of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). The report was prepared pursuant to Article 69 of … Continue Reading
Implications for users of third-country trading venues as ESMA confirms the list of venues who meet the criteria in its updated opinions on transparency and position limits. By Rob Moulton and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 3 June 2020, ESMA published updated versions of its opinions on post-trade transparency and position limits for third-country trading venues (TCTVs) … Continue Reading
New guidance for issuers and market participants on capital raising events and alternative working arrangements, and additional time allowed for filing half-yearly financial reports. By James Inness, Nicola Higgs, Connor Cahalane, and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 27 May 2020, the FCA published its Primary Market Bulletin 28, which provides an update for issuers on temporary relief … Continue Reading
While regulators in the EU have lifted the temporary COVID-19-related short-selling bans, they will monitor the markets and impose further restrictions if required. By Carl Fernandes and Sherryn Buehlmann Regulators in Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, and Spain announced that the temporary short-selling bans imposed in those jurisdictions expired on 18 May 2020 at 11.59pm. … Continue Reading
In the wake of COVID-19, the SEC and FINRA are taking steps to support markets and market participants. By Dana G. Fleischman, Stephen P. Wink, and Deric Behar The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) continue to monitor and address ongoing impacts of COVID-19 to US capital … Continue Reading
Further economic measures provide support for small and mid-sized businesses, as well as state and local economies facing pandemic hardships. By Alan W. Avery, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar The Federal Reserve, in its continuing efforts to safeguard financial markets, provide stability to the financial system, and support the flow of credit in the economy, … Continue Reading
The three US federal banking agencies continue to take additional steps to promote the functioning of the financial system in the face of the pandemic. By Alan W. Avery, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar The three US federal banking agencies — the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit … Continue Reading
The FCA sets out its approach on client identity verification, supervisory flexibility over best execution obligations and 10% depreciation notifications, and financial resilience. By Rob Moulton and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 31 March 2020, the FCA published a Dear CEO letter to firms providing services to retail investors about COVID-19. The FCA makes it clear that it expects … Continue Reading
UK regulators announce a further package of measures to ease the burden on issuers. By Chris Horton, James Inness, Rob Moulton, Koushik Prasad, Connor Cahalane, and Charlotte Collins In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UK regulators have published further measures affecting issuers, to try to preserve the flow of information to investors and support the … Continue Reading
The three US federal banking agencies have taken additional steps to enable the financial system to continue functioning during the pandemic. By Alan W. Avery and Pia Naib The three US federal banking agencies — the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office … Continue Reading
The three US federal banking agencies have taken steps to enable the financial system to continue functioning during the pandemic. By Alan W. Avery and Pia Naib During the course of this week, the three US federal banking agencies — the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance … Continue Reading
Latham explores the primary legal developments for issuers and their advisers in the year ahead. By Chris Horton, James Inness, and Connor Cahalane The regulatory regime and disclosure requirements for listed companies in the UK will continue to evolve in 2020. Issuers and their advisers should be aware of the key legal developments that will … Continue Reading
10 Key Regulatory Focus Areas for UK/European Wholesale Markets in 2019 By David Berman, Carl Fernandes Nicola Higgs, Rob Moulton, and Charlotte Collins In the second post of this 10-blog series, we examine recent and upcoming developments relating to MiFID II. This is taken from our wider publication: 10 Key Regulatory Focus Areas for UK/European Wholesale Markets in 2019 – Progress Report. … Continue Reading
The full regulation will come into force in July, imposing new requirements for prospectuses By James Inness and Connor Cahalane The new EU Prospectus Regulation will take full effect on 21 July 2019. Issuers and other parties to capital markets transactions can expect changes in the following areas: Prospectus summary: New content requirements and length … Continue Reading
Regulatory guidance on cryptoassets and digital currency companies may lead to a legitimisation of crypto-businesses as an investable asset class. By Stuart Davis, Sam Maxson, David Walker, Tom Evans, and Catherine Campbell Recent and upcoming regulatory guidance on cryptoassets and the regulation of companies engaged in digital currency, such as issuers, crypto-exchanges, crypto-custodians, crypto-brokers, and … Continue Reading
By Nicola Higgs, Fiona MacLean, Brett Carr, and Catherine Campbell Technology outsourcing by financial institutions (FIs) has increased in recent years as FIs look to the latest innovations to improve their day-to-day business processes and to reduce costs. FIs outsource key functions to a host of regulated and unregulated third-party service providers, and the sector is … Continue Reading
