The Corporate Transparency Act, designed to combat the use of shell companies for illicit purposes and increase ownership transparency in corporate structures, takes effect on January 1, 2024

This Update discusses how the Corporate Transparency Act rules will affect directors and senior officers of CTA reporting companies, in particular. All senior officers, directors and their advisers, and counsel should be aware of these rules and potential implications.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a proposed rule on November 7, 2023, that, if finalized, would subject to its supervisory authority certain Big Tech firms and other nonbank companies operating in the payments sphere.

Beginning January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act will require most entities formed or registered to do business in the United States to disclose detailed information regarding their owners, officers, and control persons to the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council released the fifth phase of updates to the FFIEC Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual on August 2, 2023.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Commerce Department is the government agency that prepares important statistics and objective data about the U.S. economy, including the U.S. gross domestic product. As part of its data-gathering process, the BEA makes use of a variety of surveys and other reports submitted to it by U.S. business enterprises and individuals. Two of BEA’s most comprehensive five-year benchmark surveys have impending filing deadlines and must be submitted by those U.S. businesses and persons to which they apply.

In the three days since federal authorities announced sweeping measures to protect depositors of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank and help prevent additional bank failures (as discussed in our update of March 12, 2023), the U.S. banking system appears to have stabilized, at least temporarily. 

At 6:15 p.m. ET on March 12, 2023, the Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC announced “actions enabling the FDIC to complete its resolution of Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, California, in a manner that fully protects all depositors. Depositors will have access to all of their money starting Monday, March 13” (emphasis added).

An overview of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and what we expect to happen next. This reflects information as of 4:00 p.m. PT on March 11, 2023. We note that it is an evolving situation; we will provide updates as warranted in the coming days. Please contact your Perkins Coie lawyer or email SVBSupport@perkinscoie.com with questions or for assistance.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco delivered groundbreaking remarks at the American Bar Association National Institute on White Collar on March 2, 2023, heralding a new era of corporate enforcement aimed at addressing U.S. national security priorities.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to address an outstanding issue in its final rule implementing the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act. 

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced an interim final rule, adding a substantial number of new export restrictions to China of advanced semiconductors and chip manufacturing equipment.

The U.S. government issued guidance on October 14, 2022, emphasizing that the United States is “prepared to use its broad targeting authorities against non-U.S. persons” who continue to trade with Russia sanctions targets, particularly with private sector companies that support the Russian military.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued its highly anticipated final rule implementing the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act legislation on September 29, 2022.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury, on May 13, 2022, published its 2022 National Illicit Finance Strategy—a comprehensive statement of the agency’s key priorities, goals, and plans for safeguarding the U.S. financial system against illicit activity in order to “strengthen national security and prosperity.”

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine persists, with no end currently in sight, the United States continues to issue increasingly punishing economic sanctions and export controls targeting Russia, most recently aiming at the exportation to Russia of certain categories of professional services.

Russia’s invasion into Ukraine in February 2022 has prompted the United States and its allies, including the United Kingdom, the European Union, and others, to issue substantial international trade restrictions including economic sanctions and export controls. In addition to earlier U.S. actions, the United States has issued further trade restrictions.

President Biden signed into law the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 on March 15, 2022.

Following Russia’s recognition of breakaway regions in Ukraine and full-scale invasion of the country, authorities in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and across the globe imposed a sweeping array of trade and economic sanctions, export controls, and other financial countermeasures.

On February 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally recognized the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in Eastern Ukraine as independent states.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on December 6, 2021, soliciting comments on the potential extension of the Bank Secrecy Act.

On December 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a highly anticipated proposed rule that would implement key provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act.

On October 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control released guidance on sanctions compliance for the digital currency industry, the agency’s most detailed guidance to date on its expectations for participants in this rapidly growing industry.

The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Countering Foreign Sanctions (Anti-Sanctions Law) was passed by the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress on June 10, 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic altered and disrupted what was considered normal and is thrusting many companies, especially financial institutions, into a new reality where the need for intense digitization is no longer an optional strategy or an experiment.

The California Attorney General’s Office released for public comment the long-awaited proposed regulations for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on October 10, 2019.

A new California privacy ballot initiative has been introduced by real estate developer and privacy rights advocate, Alastair Mactaggart.

The SEC announced two administrative settlements in June, with a fund administrator that provided accounting and fund administration services to several private funds based on its alleged failure to heed red flags and correct faulty accounting by two private fund managers.

This update was republished in the Journal of Investment Compliance May 2017 issue, " SEC Charges Private Fund Administrator With Gatekeeping Failures ."

The SEC’s recent aggressive enforcement posture against chief compliance officers has raised many concerns, including whether the SEC’s actions are actually chilling robust compliance efforts.

This update was featured in Today's General Counsel on 03.17.2016 as "Is SEC Monday Morning Quarterbacking, By Targeting Compliance Officers?"

On February 18, 2016, the California Supreme Court held that borrowers may bring wrongful foreclosure claims based on challenges to an assignment of the note and deed of trust to a securitized trust.

On Thursday, December 18, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed rule amendments to implement Title V and Title VI of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”).

On Wednesday, November 5, 2014, the Federal Reserve Board (the "Board") issued a final rule that establishes a financial sector concentration limit pursuant to Section 622 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Friday, October 17, 2014, the Federal Reserve Board (the "Board") issued a final rule modifying the regulations for capital planning and stress testing and released instructions for the 2015 capital planning cycle.

On Friday, August 22, 2014, the Federal Reserve Board (the "Board") requested comments on its proposal to repeal its Regulation AA, which deals with unfair or deceptive acts or practices.

On Wednesday, July 23, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted amendments to the rules governing money market mutual funds (or “money market funds”) pursuant to Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act” or “Act”).

On Wednesday, June 25, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") issued new rules and guidance regarding cross-border security-based swap activities for market participants. The SEC issued the new rules as part of a series of rules proposed in May 2013 to address the application to cross-border activities of security-based swap regulatory requirements under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

On Tuesday, April 8, 2014, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (together, the "Agencies") jointly issued a final rule that establishes an enhanced supplementary leverage ratio for the largest United States banking organizations.

On Monday, March 24, 2014, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the National Credit Union Administration issued a proposed rule that would implement minimum requirements for state registration and supervision of appraisal management companies (“AMCs”).

On Wednesday, March 5, 2014, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Board"), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC") and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (the "OCC") issued final guidance regarding stress testing for financial companies with total consolidated assets between $10 billion and $50 billion ("Medium-Sized Firms").

On Thursday, February 6, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) released guidance regarding who qualifies as a “knowledgeable employee” in rule 3c-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”).

On Thursday, January 23, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") proposed a rule to allow oversight of larger nonbank international money transfer providers for compliance with the CFPB's October 2013 "Remittance Rule," which is designed to protect consumers sending money abroad.

On Thursday, January 14, 2013, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission approved an interim final rule to permit banking entities to retain interests in certain collateralized debt obligations backed primarily by trust preferred securities from the investment prohibitions of Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, known as the Volcker rule.

On Monday, December 23, 2013, the Federal Reserve Board proposed amendments to Regulation A (Extensions of Credit by Federal Reserve Banks) to implement Sections 1101 and 1103 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), which amended the Federal Reserve Board's emergency lending authority in Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act.

On Thursday, December 12, 2013, the Federal Reserve Board, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a final rule that creates exemptions from certain appraisal requirements for a subset of higher-priced mortgage loans.

On Wednesday, December 5, 2013, the Federal Reserve Board (the "Federal Reserve") adopted final rules that amend Regulation HH pursuant to Section 806 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Tuesday, December 3, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") issued a final rule pursuant to the CFPB’s authority under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

On Friday, November 8, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") proposed amending its regulations to require that all persons registered with the CFTC as introducing brokers, commodity pool operators, and commodity trading advisors must become and remain members of at least one registered futures association.

On Tuesday, November 5, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) proposed two sets of position limit related rules pursuant to Section 4a of the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”), as amended by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”).

On Wednesday, October 23, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") voted unanimously to propose rules to permit companies to offer and sell securities through "crowdfunding," under Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the "JOBS Act").

On Wednesday, September 18, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) voted 3-2 to propose a new rule that would require public companies to disclose the ratio of the compensation of its chief executive officer (“CEO”) to the median compensation of its employees.

On Tuesday, August 13, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) issued a final rule to exempt swaps entered into by qualified cooperatives from the clearing requirement under Section 2(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) and part 50 of the CFTC’s regulations, subject to certain conditions.

On Tuesday, July 30, 2013, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Fed”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) proposed guidance describing supervisory expectations for stress tests conducted by financial companies with total consolidated assets between $10 billion and $50 billion.

On Wednesday, July 10, 2013, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Fed”), Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Housing Finance Agency, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a proposed rule that would create exemptions from certain appraisal requirements for a subset of higher-priced mortgage loans.

On Wednesday, July 10, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted amendments to Rule 506 of Regulation D and Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 to implement Section 201(a) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”).

On Wednesday, June 19, 2013, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) finalized its lending limits interim final rule, with revisions. The interim final rule consolidated the lending limits rules applicable to national banks and savings associations, removed the separate OCC regulation governing lending limits for savings associations, and implemented Section 610 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Wednesday, June 5, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) voted unanimously to propose rules that would reform the way that certain money market funds operate in order to make them less susceptible to runs that could harm investors.  The SEC’s proposal includes two principal alternative reforms that could be adopted alone or in combination.  One alternative would require a floating net asset value per share (NAV) for prime institutional money market funds.  The other alternative would allow the use of liquidity fees and redemption gates in times of stress.  The proposal also includes additional diversification and disclosure measures that would apply under either alternative.

On Wednesday, May 29, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) issued amendments to Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”).  TILA Section 129C, as added by Sections 1411, 1412, and 1414 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), generally requires creditors to make a reasonable, good faith determination of a consumer’s ability to repay a mortgage loan and creates a presumption of compliance with these ability-to-repay requirements for certain loans designated as “qualified mortgages.

On Thursday, May 16, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") adopted clarifying and technical amendments to its Escrow Requirements Under the Truth in Lending Act final rule issued on January 10, 2013.

On Wednesday, May 1, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") proposed rules and interpretive guidance for parties to cross-border security-based swap transactions.

On Thursday, April 25, 2013, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the "OCC") and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC") proposed guidance and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Fed") issued a statement related to deposit advance products.

On Wednesday, April 10, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") jointly issued final rules and guidelines that will require certain regulated entities to establish programs to address risks of identity theft.

On Thursday, March 28, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") approved a final order that exempts certain non-financial energy derivative transactions between and amongst government-owned electric utilities and cooperatively-owned electric utilities from most of the requirements of the Commodity Exchange Act (the "CEA") and the CFTC's regulations, subject to certain anti-fraud, anti-manipulation, and record inspection conditions.

On Thursday, March 14, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") proposed, pursuant to Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a rule that would identify a market for student loan servicing, and define certain nonbank student loan servicers as "larger participants," thereby allowing the CFPB to oversee their activity for compliance with federal consumer financial laws.

On Wednesday, March 6, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") approved the request from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (the "CME") for the CME to adopt new Chapter 10 and new Rule 1001 in the CME’s rulebook.

On Friday, March 1, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") issued a release requesting data and other information, in particular quantitative data and economic analysis, relating to the benefits and costs that could result from various alternative approaches regarding the standards of conduct and other obligations of broker-dealers and investment advisers.

On Thursday, February 26, 2013, the Federal Reserve Board (the "Fed") introduced a proposed rule pursuant to Title VIII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Thursday, January 10, 2013, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") issued a final rule that amends Regulation Z to implement certain amendments to the Truth in Lending Act ("TILA") made by Sections 1461 and 1462 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Friday, January 18, 2013, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Fed”), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB"), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (the “FHFA”), the National Credit Union Administration (the “NCUA”), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) issued a final rule that establishes new appraisal requirements for "higher-priced mortgage loans."

On Thursday, January 10, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") issued a final rule amending Regulation Z pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"). Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act, prohibits a creditor from making a higher-priced mortgage loan without regard to the consumer’s ability to repay the loan.

On Thursday, January 3, 2013, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the "OCC") provided guidance regarding requests for a transition period pursuant to Section 716 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Friday, December 21, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") adopted amendments to Exchange Act Rule 17Ad-17 to implement the requirements of Section 929W of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

On Thursday, December 13, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") announced that it is adopting regulations to establish a clearing requirement under Section 2(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act, enacted under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Wednesday, November 28, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") requested public comment on a request from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. ("CME") for approval of Rule 1001 submitted pursuant to section 40.5 of the CFTC’s regulations.

On Friday, November 9, 2012, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Fed"), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC"), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the "OCC") issued a joint press release concerning the three notices of proposed rulemaking issued in June that would revise and replace the current regulatory capital rules.

On Tuesday, October 23, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") proposed new regulations and amendments to existing regulations pursuant to Sections 4d(a)(2) and Section 4d(f) of the Commodity Exchange Act (the "CEA"), as amended by Section 724(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Wednesday, October 17, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) voted unanimously to propose capital, margin, and segregation requirements for security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants.

On Tuesday, October 16, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a final rule that amends certain current regulations in order to implement aspects of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act).

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, the "Regulators") each published final rules with stress testing requirements for certain covered institutions.

On Tuesday, September 25, 2012, the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and the NASDAQ Stock Marker ("Nasdaq") filed proposed amendments to their listing standards to reflect the requirements of Rule 10C-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act").

On Monday, September 24, 2012, the Federal Reserve Board (the "Fed"), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC"), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the "OCC") announced the availability of a regulatory capital estimation tool to help community banking organizations and other interested parties evaluate recently published regulatory capital proposals.

On Wednesday, August 29, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) proposed amendments to Rule 506 of Regulation D and Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to Section 201(a) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act.

On Tuesday, August 21, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") ' approved a proposed order that would exempt certain specified transactions of Regional Transmission Organizations ("RTOs") and Independent System Operators ("ISOs") from certain provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (the "CEA"), as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), and CFTC regulations.

On Thursday, August 16, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") issued a proposed rule to exempt swaps between certain affiliated entities within a corporate group from the clearing requirement of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Tuesday, August 7, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") proposed regulations to establish a clearing requirement under new Section 2(h)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act (the "CEA"), enacted under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Monday, July 23, 2012, U.S. Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced S.3416, the Stronger Enforcement of Civil Penalties Act of 2012.  S.3416 would increase to the statutory limits on the amounts that the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") may seek to penalize individuals and entities charged with securities law violations in administrative and civil actions.

On Wednesday, July 18, 2012, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the "FSOC") voted unanimously to designate eight financial market utilities ("FMUs") as systemically important under Title VIII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").  This action is the first such designation made by the FSOC.

On Tuesday, July 10, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") voted to adopt a final rule and approve a proposed rule regarding exceptions to the swap clearing requirement established in Section 2(h)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act (the "CEA"), as amended by Section 723 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Friday, July 6, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC"), approved joint rules and interpretations for key definitions of certain derivative products. The rules and interpretations further define the terms “swap” and “security-based swap” and whether a particular instrument is a “swap” regulated by the CFTC or a “security-based swap” regulated by the SEC.

The SEC Adopts Swap Clearing Agency Rules.

On Thursday, June 28, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") adopted rules that establish procedures for its review of certain clearing agency actions.  The rules are required by Title VIII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), which calls for a regulatory framework for trading in over-the-counter derivatives, including swap agreements.  The rules detail how clearing agencies are to provide information to the SEC about security-based swaps that the clearing agencies plan to accept for clearing.  The information is intended to aid the SEC in determining whether such security-based swaps are required to be cleared.  The rules also require clearing agencies that are designated as "systemically important" to submit advance notice of changes to their rules, procedures, or operations if the changes could materially affect the nature or level of risk at those clearing agencies.

Read the SEC press release rule (Insert: http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2012/2012-124.htm)

On Friday, June 15, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") proposed regulations pursuant to Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"). The proposed regulations would clarify that each swap dealer ("SD"), major swap participant ("MSP"), and other CFTC registrant with whom an associated person ("AP") is associated is required to supervise the AP and is jointly and severally responsible for the activities of the AP with respect to customers common to it and another SD, MSP or another CFTC registrant.

On Wednesday, June 6, 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") announced three final rules to implement provisions of Sections 1052, 1053, and 1042 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") and one interim final rule to implement provisions of the Equal Access to Justice Act (the "EAJA").  The three final rules deal with the CFPB’s investigative and adjudicative processes and its interactions with state law enforcement authorities.  The interim final rule implements the EAJA provisions that certain prevailing parties in administrative proceedings can recover attorney fees and expenses.

On Monday, June 4, 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB"), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a Memorandum of Understanding that clarifies how the agencies will coordinate their supervisory activities, consistent with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Monday, May 14, 2012, the Federal Reserve Board (the "Fed"), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the "OCC"), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC") issued final supervisory guidance regarding stress-testing practices at banking organizations with total consolidated assets of more than $10 billion. The guidance does not implement the stress testing requirements in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") or in the Fed's capital plan rule that apply to certain companies, as those requirements have been or are being implemented through separate proposals by the respective agencies.

On Friday, April 27, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") issued a final rule to repeal and replace the CFTC's current regulations concerning commodity options.  The CFTC also issued an interim final rule (with a request for additional comment) that incorporates a trade option exemption into the final rules for certain commodity options.

On Wednesday, April 18, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") unanimously adopted a new rule to define a series of terms related to the over-the-counter swaps market. The rules, adopted pursuant to Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), were written jointly with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC").

On Monday, April 16, 2012, the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems ("CPSS") and the Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions ("IOSCO") published the final report on the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures. The report updates, harmonizes, and strengthens the risk management and related standards applicable to financial market infrastructures ("FMIs"), including systemically important payment systems, central securities depositories, securities settlement systems, central counterparties, and trade repositories.

On Thursday, April 5, 2012, President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the "JOBS Act") into law.  The JOBS Act's stated purpose is to spur job creation and economic growth by improving access to capital for emerging growth companies by making some of the most significant changes to the U.S. securities law landscape in over a generation.

As forecast, on March 27 the U.S. House passed the Senate's amended version of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the JOBS Act), clearing the way for President Obama to sign the bill into law, which he is expected to do in the coming days.

On Tuesday, March 20, 2012, the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (the “FDIC”) published two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking.  The first would implement section 201(c)(16) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), which permits the FDIC as receiver for a failed “systemically important financial institution,” or “SIFI,” to enforce and prevent termination of the contracts of the institution's subsidiaries or affiliates.

On Monday February 20, 2012, Perkins Coie LLP Partner George Fogg published a white paper addressing the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) to regulate certain nonbanks.

On Friday February 24, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission both adopted and proposed new regulations aimed at harmonizing the compliance obligations of investment companies required to register as Commodity Pool Operators ("CPOs") pursuant to the Commodities Exchange Act.  The newly adopted final rules both amend the existing CFTC part 4 regulations and add a new rule regarding CPOs and Commodity Trading Advisors ("CTAs").

On Wednesday February 15, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") announced tightened rules on investment advisory performance fees, raising the net worth requirement for investors who pay performance fees by excluding the value of the investor’s home from the net worth calculation.

On Tuesday February 14, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") proposed regulations that would implement Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection, commonly known as the "Volker Rule."

On Tuesday January 31, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") delivered to Congress a report on international swap regulation, as required by Section 719(c) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Thursday, January 19, 2012, Government Accountability Office (the "GAO") released a study on the institutions exempt from the definition of "bank" under Section 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act.

Just as more professionals have started taking advantage of social media to develop and grow their business, the financial services industry is following suit.  However, given the highly regulated nature of this industry, financial services professionals must be aware of special regulatory considerations when utilizing social networking tools.

On Wednesday, January 18, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") published a request for public comment on financial literacy and investor disclosure issues that it is studying as part of a review mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"). Section 917 of the Dodd-Frank Act directs the SEC to conduct a study of retail investors’ financial literacy and submit its findings to Congress by July 21, 2012.

On Thursday, January 5, 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") announced the launch of its non-bank supervision program under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").  The CFPB already began its supervision of banks, thrifts, and credit unions with assets of over $10 billion on July 21, 2011.

On Monday, January 9, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission adopted final rules to implement a framework for the real-time public reporting of swap transaction and pricing data for all swap transactions.

On Wednesday, December 21, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") adopted rules to implement Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Wednesday, December 7, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") amended its regulations regarding the investment of customer segregated funds subject to CFTC Regulation 1.25 and funds held in an account subject to CFTC Regulation 30.7.

On Wednesday, December 7, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") issued a Guidebook for Part 20 Reports providing additional guidance and detailed instructions for submitting large swaps trader reports to the Commission.

On Friday, December 2, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") announced an interpretation that relates to anti-fraud authority provided in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Tuesday, November 29, 2011, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") proposed a rule to remove references to credit ratings from various OCC regulations and related guidance to national banks and federal savings associations in meeting due diligence requirements in assessing credit risk for portfolio investments.

On Thursday, November 17, 2011, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Federal Reserve"), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB"), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC"), the National Credit Union Administration (the "NCUA"), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the "OCC") issued a joint statement that seeks to explains how the total assets of an insured bank, thrift or credit union will be measured for purposes of determining supervisory and enforcement responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act'').

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") recently adopted Rule 13h-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and related Form 13H, establishing new reporting and filing requirements for "large traders" of securities in U.S. markets.

On Tuesday, November 8, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") adopted final regulations to implement certain provisions of Title VII and Title VIII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act governing derivatives clearing organization ("DCO") activities.

On Wednesday, October 26, 2011, and Monday, October 31, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") approved a new joint rule requiring certain advisers to hedge funds and other private funds to report information for use by the Financial Stability Oversight Council in monitoring risks to the U.S. financial system.

On Tuesday, October 25, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") issued a notice of a proposed amendment to a July 14, 2011 final order (the "July 14th Order").  The July 14th Order grants temporary exemptive relief from certain provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (the "CEA") that otherwise would have taken effect on July 16, 2011, the general effective date of title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Monday, October 17, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board (the "Board") announced that the Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC") adopted a final rule implementing the resolution plan requirement of Section 165(d)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  Section 165(d)(1) requires each non-bank financial company designated by the Financial Stability Oversight Council ("FSOC") for enhanced supervision by the Board and each bank holding company with assets of $50 billion or more to report periodically to the Board, the FDIC, and the FSOC the company's plan for rapid and orderly resolution in the event of material financial distress or failure.

On Tuesday, October 11, 2011, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the "OCC"), the Federal Reserve Board (the "Fed"), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC"), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") jointly issued proposed regulation implementing the so-called "Volcker Rule" requirements of section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

Is it the result of turbulent economic times, tighter bank financing, or the globalization of the private finance and investment world? We cannot say for sure what is fueling the interest, but an increasing number of our clients are asking about, exploring or already gaining the benefits of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program.

On Monday, September 19, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a new rule under the Securities Act of 1933 to implement the prohibition under Section 621 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 on material conflicts of interest in connection with certain securitizations.

On Monday, September 12, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) amended its regulations governing off-exchange foreign currency transactions with members of the retail public (“retail forex transactions”).

On Thursday, August 25, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) adopted final rules and new forms to implement Section 23 of the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) as amended by Section 748 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”).  Section 23, entitled “Commodity Whistleblower Incentives and Protection,” established a whistleblower program that requires the CFTC to pay an award, under regulations prescribed by the CFTC and subject to certain limitations, to eligible whistleblowers who voluntarily provide the CFTC with original information about a violation of the CEA that leads to the successful enforcement of a covered judicial or administrative action, or a related action.

On Friday, August 19, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) approved for publication in the Federal Register a request for public comment in connection with a joint study on stable value contracts. Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) provides for the comprehensive regulation of swaps and security-based swaps and includes definitions of key terms relating to such regulation.

On Wednesday, August 10, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) adopted final rules implementing new statutory provisions enacted by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act'”). The Dodd-Frank Act provides that swaps in an “agricultural commodity” (as defined by the CFTC) are prohibited unless entered into pursuant to a rule, regulation, or order of the CFTC adopted pursuant to certain provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”). The new rules implement regulations whereby swaps in agricultural commodities may transact subject to the same rules as all other swaps. The rules repeal and replace the CFTC’s current regulations concerning the exemption of swap agreements.

On Wednesday, July 27, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) adopted regulations and amended existing regulations to implement Sections 717, 718, 723, 728, 733, 745, 803, 804, and 806 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act'”). The CFTC amended its existing regulations governing the submission of new products, rules, and rule amendments. The final regulations establish the Commission's procedural framework for the submission of new products, rules, and rule amendments by designated contract markets, derivatives clearing organizations, swap execution facilities, and swap data repositories. In addition, the final regulations prohibit event contracts involving certain excluded commodities, establish special submission procedures for certain rules proposed by systemically important derivatives clearing organizations, and stay the certifications and the approval review periods of novel derivative products pending jurisdictional determinations.

On Wednesday, July 20, 2011, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) issued a final rule implementing Sections 312, 316, 322, 335, and 603 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”). The rules incorporate the transfer to the OCC of certain functions of the Office of Thrift Supervision (the “OTS”). The rules also amend OCC rules pertaining to change in control of credit card banks and trust banks, deposit-taking by uninsured Federal branches, and OCC preemption and visitorial powers.

On July 22, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its highly anticipated opinion in the challenge to SEC Rule 14a-11 brought by the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Rule 14a-11 would have required companies subject to the Exchange Act’s proxy rules to include in their proxy materials shareholder nominees for director who met specified conditions. In the strongly worded opinion, written by Judge Ginsburg, the court vacated Rule 14a-11, characterizing the SEC proxy access rule as “arbitrary and capricious” and stating that the SEC had failed “adequately to assess the economic effects” of Rule 14a-11. The court did not address the constitutional challenges raised by the plaintiffs under the First Amendment.

On Thursday, July 14, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board approved a final rule repealing Regulation Q, which prohibits the payment of interest on demand deposits if the institution is a member of the Federal Reserve System.  This rule implements Section 627 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank Act").

On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) issued supplemental guidance to the Authentication in an Internet Banking Environment, which was issued in October 2005.

On Wednesday, June 22, 2011, the SEC adopted amendments to the Investment Advisors Act, as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"). The amendments require advisors to hedge funds and other private funds to register with the SEC, expand disclosure requirements for investment advisors, revise pay-to-play rules, establish addition exemptions from SEC registration and reporting requirements for certain advisors, and reallocate regulatory responsibility between the various states and the SEC. There is a transitional exemption period requiring registration by March 30, 2012 for those advisors previously not required to do so.

At an open meeting of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 23, 2011, the SEC Commissioners approved a new rule defining “family offices.” Title IV of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) excluded family offices from the definition of investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act) and thereby exempted family offices from the registration requirements under the Advisers Act, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act. However, Section 409 of the Dodd-Frank Act also directed the SEC to adopt a rule defining the term “family office” in order to identify the entities eligible for the exclusion. On June 23, 2011, the SEC adopted such a rule.

On Monday, June 13, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board adopted an interim final rule allowing small bank holding companies that are either S-corporations or organized in mutual form to exclude subordinated debt issued to Treasury under the SBLF, or Small Business Lending Fund, (as well as subordinated debt issued to Treasury under TARP) from treatment as "debt" for purposes of the Board's Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement's debt-to-equity standard.

On Wednesday, May 25, 2011, the Office of the Comptroller .of the Currency (the "OCC") proposed rules implementing Sections 312, 316, 322, 335, and 603 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"). The proposed rules incorporate the transfer to the OCC of certain functions of the Office of Thrift Supervision. The OCC also is proposing amendments to its rules pertaining to change in control of credit card banks and trust banks; deposit-taking by uninsured Federal branches; and its preemption and visitorial powers rules.

On Tuesday, May 10, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") proposed a rule raising dollar thresholds required before investment advisers are able to charge their clients performance fees. This adjustment is required under Section 418 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank Act"), which requires the SEC to issue an order to adjust for inflation these dollar amount thresholds by July 21, 2011, and every five years thereafter.

On Thursday, April 21, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board issued a request for public information and comment on two bankruptcy-related studies that it will conduct pursuant to Section 216 and Section 217 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

On Friday, April 15, 2011, the Federal Reserve sought comment on a notice outlining the application of its consolidated supervisory program for bank holding companies to savings and loan holding companies for which it now has supervisory responsibility.

On Friday, April 8, 2011, the CFTC and SEC released a joint study regarding the feasibility of requiring the derivatives industry to utilize algorithmic descriptions in order to describe financial derivatives.

On Monday, April 5, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a proposal establishing the "limit up-limit down" mechanism aimed at curbing extraordinary market volatility in the U.S. equity markets.  The proposal was filed by national securities exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

On Friday, March 25, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board adopted two rules expanding the coverage of consumer protection in the areas of credit transactions and leases of higher dollar amounts.  The rules amend Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) and Regulation M (Consumer Leasing) and implement certain requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").  Protections will now be in place for credit transactions and consumer leases up to $50,000, as compared with $25,000 currently.  The amount will be adjusted annually to reflect any shifts in the consumer price index.

On Tuesday, March 15, 2011, the Board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPR") to clarify the application of orderly liquidation authority under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank Act").

On Wednesday, March 9, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed amendments to its regulations regarding the registration of intermediaries.  These amendments are in-line with requirements under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").  The amendments incorporate references into the regulations to swap dealers, swap execution facilities, and major swap participants.

On Tuesday, March 1, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Trade Commission proposed regulations regarding credit score disclosure.  The proposed regulations implement requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act").  Proposed requirements include the "disclosure of credit scores and related information to consumers in risk-based pricing and adverse action notices under the Fair Credit Reporting Act if a credit score was used in setting the credit terms or taking adverse action."  The proposed regulations would amend Regulation V (Fair Credit Reporting) and Regulation B (Equal Credit Opportunity).  Comments on the proposed rules are due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

On Wednesday, February 9, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board approved a final rule implementing the conformance period relating to the so-called "Volcker Rule" under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank Act").  The Volcker Rule would prohibit banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading and from investing in or sponsoring hedge funds or private equity funds.  The final rule gives banking firms a period of time to conform their activities to the prohibitions and restrictions of the Volcker Rule.  The final rule will be effective April 1, 2011.

On Wednesday, February 2, 2011, the SEC proposed rules that define security-based swap execution facilities and establish the facilities' registration requirements, duties, and core principles.  The SEC proposed these rules under the express direction under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") to implement a regulatory framework for security-based swaps.

On Friday, January 14, 2011, the SEC proposed a rule requiring security-based swaps dealers and major security-based swap participants "to provide to their counterparties a trade acknowledgment detailing information specific to the transaction."  Trade acknowledgements must be provided within 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 24 hours of execution of the transaction, depending on whether the transaction is executed or processed electronically.  The new rule is proposed under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  The rule is aimed at increasing transparency in the security-based swaps market.

Washington State recently amended its definition of "accredited investor" to exclude the value of an investor's primary residence from the $1 million threshold calculation.  This change reflects the altered definition of "accredited investor" as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

On Tuesday, December 14, 2010, the Board of Directors of the FDIC approved an interagency rule implementing certain provisions of Section 171 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, commonly referred to as to the Collins Amendment.  The Collins Amendment requires capital requirements applicable to insured banks to "serve as floor for other capital requirements the agencies establish."  Basel II, as it is, allows for reductions in risk-based capital requirements below those applicable to insured banks, and will need to be altered.

On November 19, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission released two companion releases proposing new rules related to registration requirements for investment advisers to private funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds and other pooled investment vehicles.

On Tuesday, November 9, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation approved a final rule implementing section 343 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  Section 343 allows for temporary unlimited deposit insurance coverage for noninterest bearing transaction accounts.  This coverage will become effective on December 31, 2010 and will terminate on December 31, 2012.

On November 19, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a new rule, based on requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Financial Reform Act, defining “venture capital funds” for purposes of exempting advisers to these funds from registering under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

On Tuesday, October 19, 2010, the Board of Directors of the FDIC approved a proposed long-range plan for deposit insurance fund management.  The proposal was created in response to the FDIC's altered authority under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

On Wednesday, October 13, 2010, the SEC adopted an interim rule requiring certain swap dealers to report security-based swaps entered into prior to the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on July 21.

On Tuesday, October 12, 2010, Minnesota-based TCF Financial Corp. filed a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve in order to declare the Durbin Amendment, found in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, unconstitutional.  The Durbin Amendment allows the Federal Reserve to limit how much a bank with assets exceeding $10 billion can charge retailers when using a debit card.  TCF argues that the Durbin Amendment favors small banks and, therefore, violates the bank's right to equal protection.

On October 12, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a new rule, based on requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Financial Reform Act, defining “family offices” that will be excluded from regulation under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

On Monday, September 27, 2010, the FDIC Board of Directors approved a final rule extending through December 31, 2010 the Safe Harbor Protection for Treatment by the FDIC as Conservator or Receiver of Financial Assets Transferred by an Insured Depository Institution in Connection With a Securitization or Participation.  This final rule ensures that securitizations or participations in process before the end of 2010 will be permanently grandfathered under the existing terms of treatment.

On July 28, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to Part 2 of Form ADV, the form used by investment advisers to register with the SEC and state securities regulators.  These amendments are effective for filings made on or after October 12, 2010.  Also affecting advisers are changes made as a result of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or the Financial Reform Act, which President Obama signed into law on July 21, 2010. Both the SEC's recent action and the Financial Reform Act make a variety of changes to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

On Friday, September 17, 2010, the SEC proposed new rules requiring public companies to disclose information regarding short-term borrowing.  The new rules are designed "to enable investors to better understand whether amounts of short-term borrowings reported at the end of reporting periods are consistent with amounts outstanding throughout the reporting periods."  Enhanced disclosure would be included in the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of a public company's quarterly and annual reports and would include quantitative information for each type of short-term borrowing used as well as additional information to provide a context for the quantitative data.

On Friday, September 10, 2010, the SEC announced the approval of new rules submitted by the national securities exchanges and FINRA to expand circuit breaker rules to all stocks in the Russell 1000 Index and certain exchange-traded funds.

On June 30, 2010, the House of Representatives approved the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Financial Reform Act, a comprehensive and expansive set of financial reforms widely thought to be the toughest changes to financial regulation in the United States since the Great Depression.

On June 30, 2010, the House of Representatives approved the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Financial Reform Act, a comprehensive and expansive set of financial reforms widely thought to be the toughest changes to financial regulation in the United States since the Great Depression.

On July 21, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Financial Reform Act, declaring the Financial Reform Act to contain "the strongest consumer financial protections in history."

On June 30, 2010, the House of Representatives approved the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Financial Reform Act, a comprehensive and expansive set of financial reforms widely thought to be the toughest changes to financial regulation in the United States since the Great Depression.

On Wednesday, July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 into law.

On June 30, 2010, the House of Representatives approved the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Financial Reform Act, a comprehensive and expansive set of financial reforms widely thought to be the toughest changes to financial regulation in the United States since the Great Depression.

Congress has approved the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, and President Obama has signed it into law.

On Thursday, July 15, 2010, the Senate approved the Dodd-Frank Bill by a vote of 60 to 39.  Having already passed the House, it is now anticipated that President Obama will sign the bill into law next week.

On Tuesday, June 29, 2010, the conference committee that previously finalized the Dodd-Frank Bill reopened the conference in order to swap out a controversial $19 billion tax on large banks in favor of winding TARP down early and assessing modest fees through the FDIC.

Early Friday morning, June 25, 2010, the House-Senate Conference reached final agreement on financial regulatory reform legislation, otherwise known as the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. The Act, among other things, establishes a consumer financial protection entity, eliminates "too big to fail" bailouts, establishes a warning system to avoid systemic crises, and improves transparency and accountability for complex financial instruments as derivatives.

The House-Senate Conference Committee continues to negotiate financial regulatory reform legislation. Both sides have put forth offers and counter offers in an effort to have the final legislation signed by the President before the July 4th recess.

On June 15, 2010, the House-Senate Conference committee began reconciling the two versions of financial regulatory reform legislation. The current timeline is to have the President sign a finalized bill by the July 4th recess.

On Wednesday, June 2, 2010, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee approved a resolution to toughen regulation regarding derivatives trading so as to "reduce speculative trading" and ensure that derivatives are traded openly and with uniform standards.

On Friday, May 28, 2010, the House passed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, H.R. 4213.  The bill passed by a vote of 215-204.

On Thursday Evening, May 20, 2010, the Senate passed the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.  The vote of 59 to 39 came with four Republicans voting in favor of the bill, and two Democrats voting against it.

On Thursday, May 20, 2010, the Senate invoked cloture on the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.  The vote of 60-40 allows the Senate to move the bill to a final vote by the end of the week, although it can still be further amended before the final Senate vote.

On Wednesday, May 5, 2010, Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN), Chairman of the House Republican Conference, and Conference Vice-Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) sent a letter to Vice President Joe Biden, opposing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout for Spain.

On Wednesday, April 28, 2010, Senate Republicans finally agreed to allow the opening of the debate of the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.

On Friday, April 16, 2010, President Obama threatened to veto a Wall Street reform bill that fails to regulate the derivatives market.  The President stated that he “want[s] to see what emerges, but [he] will veto legislation that does not bring the derivatives market under control in some sort of regulatory framework and assures that we do not have the same sort of mess that we've seen in the past.”

On Wednesday, April 7, 2010, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech at the Dallas Regional Chamber discussing the origins of the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve's policy responses, and both near term and longer term economic challenges facing the United States.

On Thursday, March 25, 2010 the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it is conducting a review to evaluate the use of derivatives by mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investment companies.

On Thursday, March 18, 2010, members of the House Financial Services Committee, Ranking Member of the Capital Markets Subcommittee, Scott Garret (R-NJ), along with support from Chairman Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) and Ranking Member Spencer Bachus (R-AL), introduced the United States Covered Bond Act.

On Monday, March 15, 2010, Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, released a draft of a financial services reform bill entitled "Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010."  This legislative proposal is a companion to a similar bill that was passed by the House of Representatives in December 2009.

On Thursday, February 25, the Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a template for the global collection of hedge fund information.  SEC Commissioner Kathleen Casey is the chair of the Technical Committee of IOSCO.  The IOSCO template is aimed at enabling “the collection and exchange of consistent and comparable data amongst regulators and other competent authorities for the purpose of facilitating international supervisory cooperation in identifying possible systemic risks in this sector.”

On Friday, February 19, the Federal Reserve launched an informational website aimed at helping consumers understand the recent credit card rules, which took effect Monday, February 22.  The website helps consumers by summarizing the rules, promulgated as part of the Federal Reserve's implementation of provisions of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act), and explaining how they will affect credit card users.

The successive snow storms in Washington D.C. have limited the activity this week in Congress on financial services reform.  Nonetheless, on Tuesday, February 9, House Financial Services Committee Chairman, Barney Frank issued a statement regarding the financial industry and the need for increased consumer protection in the U.S. financial industry.

On Wednesday, January 27, the SEC approved new rules aimed at reforming the regulation of money market funds in order to increase investor protection and curb risk. The approval provides for new rules and amends existing rules under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

On Thursday, January 21, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) released a memo clarifying uncertainties surrounding the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).

Last week, the Federal Reserve issued new rules regulating credit cards that go into effect February 22, 2010.  These consumer protective rules will affect credit card companies and consumers alike.

With the recent flurry of legislative activity focused on reform of the regulatory framework for financial institutions and the financial markets, the Perkins Coie Financial Services Practice is pleased to bring you the Financial Services Bulletin. This bulletin highlights recent legislative activity impacting financial services and financial institutions. The group plans to publish future bulletins as new legal developments are announced.

On Friday, December 11, 2009, the House passed the extensive Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  The Wall Street Reform Act, as proposed to the floor of the House and aimed at financial regulatory reform, was discussed in our December 11, 2009 Financial Services Bulletin.

On Wednesday, December 2, 2009, the House Financial Services Committee finished working on a comprehensive set of legislative initiatives aimed at financial regulatory reform, which are reflected in The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173).

On Wednesday, December 2, 2009, the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee passed two significant acts, the Financial Stability Improvement Act and the Federal Insurance Office Act, both of which are aimed at further regulation of the financial services sector.  Both bills have been referred to the full House for consideration.  Below are brief summaries of the acts and links to the legislative text.

On Tuesday, November 10, 2009, Senator Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, released a draft of a financial services reform bill, entitled "Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2009."  This legislative proposal is a companion to a similar, albeit less extensive, version that has been introduced in the House of Representatives.