All - Center for the Study of Financial Market Evolution (CSFME)

Tri-Party Repo Update: NY Fed Looks at Data and Best Practices.

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Monday, August 19, 2013 | All

The financial crisis revealed weaknesses in the design of the U.S. tri-party repo market that could potentially amplify and propagate systemic risk. Since that time, the New York Federal Reserve Bank has monitored closely the tri-party repo market, and its Treasury Markets Practice Group has explored practical ways to address the risks inherent in the U.S. tri-party repo system. In April, the New York Fed updated its statistics on the U.S. tri-party repo market, and the Treasury Markets Practice Group proposed an update to its best practices to support more timely trade confirmations.

Fed Sheds Some Light on “Systematically Important” Non-Banks

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Monday, August 19, 2013 | All, Formal Regulatory Remedies

The Federal Reserve Board has approved rules making it clearer which non-banks can be swept into the Board’s regulatory ambit and under what circumstances they may be “systematically important.” The March 29, 2013 release lays out the Fed’s requirements for determining when a company is “predominantly engaged in financial activities,” and defines the terms, “significant nonbank financial company” and “significant bank holding company.”

A Mixed Mid-Year Scorecard for Securities Class Action Lawsuits

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Monday, August 19, 2013 | All

Jonathan C. Dickey, partner and Co-Chair of the National Securities Litigation Practice Group at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, has published his mid-year review of securities class action lawsuits on Harvard’s corporate governance and Financial Regulation blog. Twice a year Dickey surveys the class action lawsuit landscape looking for filing and settlement trends.

EU Regulators Sign Cross-Border Hedge Fund Regulation Pact with US and Others

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Monday, August 19, 2013 | All, Formal Regulatory Remedies, Procedural Changes

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has approve cooperation agreements with seven global counterparts in five jurisdictions. These agreements with regulators in the Bahamas, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico and the United States formalize details of cooperations in the supervision of alternative investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity and real estate funds.

August 2013 Financial Services Legislative Update

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Tuesday, August 13, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale, Disclosure Regimes, Formal Regulatory Remedies

As they depart for the August recess, Congress has left some financial regulatory issues open to occupy their time upon their return next month. Bills addressing high frequency trading, exempting banks as municipal advisers, and relief for brokers engaging in private mergers and acquisition transactions remain open items for the new session. In addition, Congress is still waiting for answers from the SEC and CFTC regarding new cross-border derivatives regulations.

Bank Regulators Seek Input on Stress Tests for Medium-Sized Firms

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Tuesday, July 30, 2013 | All, Formal Regulatory Remedies

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have issued a request for comments on supervisory expectations for stress tests conducted by medium-sized financial companies. The agencies define “medium-sized” to be financial companies with total consolidated assets between $10 billion and $50 billion.

EU and US Announce Landmark Pact on Cross-Border Derivatives

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Monday, July 29, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale, Formal Regulatory Remedies

“As the market subject to these regulations is international, it is acknowledged that, notwithstanding the high degree of similarity that already exists between the respective requirements, without coordination, subjecting the global market to the simultaneous application of each other’s requirements could lead to conflicts of law, inconsistencies, and legal uncertainty.”

US and EU Formally Implement Basel III Standards

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Wednesday, July 24, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale, Formal Regulatory Remedies

On July 2, 2013, the Board of Governors of the Fed issued final capital rules for banks implementing both the Basel III Capital Framework and certain additional requirements imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act. On July 17, 2013, the EU’s Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD IV), which transposes Basel III into the EU legal framework, entered into force.

Are Institutional Investors Voting Proxies with the Correct Mindset?

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Monday, July 15, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale, Commentary, Lender Directed Voting

The federal government is not now and has never been in the business of telling you how you should vote your proxies. But it seems that through regulatory creep, the government may have indirectly given the power to tell investors how to vote their proxies to someone else entirely. Regulating disclosures and mechanics by which we vote proxies is plainly within the scope of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s mission.

On Borrowed Time. BIS Urges “A Forceful Programme of Repair and Reform”

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Wednesday, June 26, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale

Central banks cannot repair the balance sheets of households and financial institutions. Central banks cannot ensure the sustainability of fiscal finances. And, most of all, central banks cannot enact the structural economic and financial reforms needed to return economies to the real growth paths authorities and their publics both want and expect. Only a forceful […]

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