On Friday, February 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed its latest round of GameStop rule proposals. In addition to enhanced public disclosures of short sales by institutional investors, the Commission announced a 30-day extension of the comment period on its sweeping securities lending disclosure proposal, Rule 10c-1, and technical amendments to the "consolidated audit tape" regulations. These separate, but related, disclosure proposals may well be the start of a much broader and far-ranging regulatory response to the kind of market disruptions epitomized by the Gamestop event.  

Widespread adoption of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) could revolutionize cross-border payments by reducing friction and making it possible for T+1 or even T+0 settlement of cross-border trades. The Fed’s Digital Currency discussion paper is the central bank’s first step in a public discussion with stakeholders about a digital dollar, as we described in our January 25 post. But what would such a cross-border payment system look like? Is it enough to mimic the traditional systems of SWIFT, DTCC, and others? Or does the unprecedented interoperability and technology of CBDCs force obsolesce on the current systems? 

The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) securities lending disclosure proposal has drawn sharp rebuke from both securities lenders and borrowers. Lending principals criticized the proposal on everything from cost, lack of clarity, and overbroad scope to the rule's general inequity. They also pointed out a host of potential unintended consequences that could work against the very transparency the rule proposal was intended to foster.