Subject to Inquiry

Subject to Inquiry

THE LATEST ON GOVERNMENT INQUIRIES AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation Group

Category Archives: Financial Institution Regulation

Subscribe to Financial Institution Regulation RSS Feed
Financial Institution Regulation

FINRA Issues New Guidance Regarding Customer Communications Relating to Departing Registered Representatives

As recognized by new guidance from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the departure of a registered representative often prompts customer questions about the departing representative and the continued servicing of a customer’s account. In light of the continued frequency of movement of registered representatives from, or among, member firms, FINRA issued guidance on April… Continue Reading
Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation, Securities and Commodities

SEC Charges Its First Robo Actions – Increasing Scrutiny of the Investment Platform

It was never a question of if, but rather, when the Securities and Exchange Commission would launch its first charges against robo-advisors and what those charges would be. Following then-SEC Chairperson, Mary Jo White’s keynote address at the SEC-Rock Center on Corporate Governance in 2016, regulators have been carefully monitoring robo-advisors’ compliance with the Investment… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

FINRA’s 2018 Report on Cybersecurity Practices – Preventing “Spear Phishing” and “Whaling” Attacks

This article was originally posted on our sister publication, Password Protected. On December 20, 2018, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released a report on cybersecurity practices for broker-dealers. Today’s post is the second in a series of summaries sharing essential, timely insight on how these practices impact your business. Please click here for the… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB Signals Potential for Fair Lending Rulemaking

This post recently appeared in our sister publication, Consumer FinSights. In its recently published Fall 2018 Rulemaking Agenda, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection announced that it is considering future rulemaking activity regarding the requirements of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) – specifically, “concerning the disparate impact doctrine in light of recent Supreme Court… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

California Passes Small Business Truth-in-Lending Law

This post originally appeared on our sister publication Consumer FinSights On September 30, 2018, California enacted the nation’s first small business truth-in-lending law when Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 1235. The law aims to protect small businesses from predatory lending practices by requiring increased transparency of certain business-purpose loans marketed to small businesses.… Continue Reading
Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

Senate Votes to Strike Down Key CFPB Bulletin on Lending Discrimination in the Indirect Auto Market

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted almost entirely along party lines to invalidate, under the Congressional Review Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) (in)famous 2013 Bulletin on lending discrimination in the indirect auto market via discretionary mark-ups and dealer compensation policies.  The 2013 Bulletin, construing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and its implementing rule,… Continue Reading
Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation, Securities and Commodities

Does United States v. Ying Expand the Knowledge Requirement for “Classical” Insider Trading?

On March 14, 2018, the SEC and DOJ sued Jun Ying, a former Chief Information Officer within an Equifax Inc. business unit, for insider trading. Specifically, they accused him of knowing about a significant Equifax data breach prior to its public disclosure and, while in possession of that material nonpublic information, exercising his Equifax options… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

Full D.C. Circuit Court, Reversing Decision Below, Holds that CFPB’s Independent Structure is Constitutional; also Reinstates Important RESPA Rulings

In a long-awaited constitutional decision regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today in PHH v. CFPB reversed a prior ruling by a three-judge panel that the CFPB is unconstitutionally structured.  As we previously reported, that prior panel’s prior decision — stayed since its issuance in October 2016… Continue Reading
Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

Beware What You Share: Privilege Waiver Risks in Investigations

In responding to regulatory and government investigations, firms are often faced with the question of how to balance the desire to cooperate with the need to preserve privilege over an internal investigation.  Financial institutions face this question additionally in their reporting requirements to regulators, including Form U-5 filings and Suspicious Activity Reports.  Two recent decisions… Continue Reading
Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB Announces Intent to Reconsider Disclosure Rule

On December 21, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a public statement regarding implementation of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), noting that it plans to reconsider aspects of the mortgage data rule. The HMDA, enacted in 1975, requires many lenders to report information concerning applications they receive for particular mortgage loans and… Continue Reading
Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation, Securities and Commodities

SEC Approves New PCAOB Standard

Recently, the SEC approved the PCAOB’s new auditor reporting standard, AS 3101, The Auditor’s Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion. Hailed as the most significant change to the auditor report’s format in over 70 years, AS 3101 significantly changes the format of the existing auditor’s report, arming… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

The New CFPB Consumer Protection Principles

This post originally appeared in our sister publication, Password Protected. On October 18, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a set of Consumer Protection Principles regarding the sharing and aggregation of consumers’ financial data. The timing of the announcement in light of last month’s disclosure of the Equifax breach of approximately 140 million… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

Treasury Department Recommends Broad Reforms to CFPB

The Department of the Treasury recently cited the CFPB’s “unaccountable structure and unduly broad regulatory powers,” in suggesting reforms to address the CFPB’s “regulatory abuses and excesses.” The Department’s recommendations were made as a part of its report, A Financial System that Creates Economic Opportunities: Bank and Credit Unions, issued in response to President Trump’s… Continue Reading
Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB Provides Updated Guidance Related to Loan Forgiveness Program

On Thursday, June 22, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) provided updated guidance for supervisory examinations of student loan servicers.  Richard Cordray, the Director of the CFPB, gave prepared remarks in Washington D.C.  He explained his concerns related to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and how certain practices may be delaying or denying… Continue Reading
Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

Proposed Rules Aimed at High-Risk Brokers Confirm FINRA Push for Firms to “Do Their Part”

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) President and CEO Robert Cook spoke earlier this month at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where he outlined several proposals to further what he called one of FINRA’s “most important purposes”—“to protect investors from bad actors.”  Taking aim at “those who seek to evade regulatory requirements and harm investors… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation, Securities and Commodities

FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook discusses FINRA360 and Consolidating Enforcement Divisions

On May 17, 2017, at the annual FINRA conference in Washington D.C., FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook discussed the recently-launched FINRA360 initiative: a top-to-bottom review of FINRA’s operations and organization.  Cook recognized that 2017 marks FINRA’s  ten-year anniversary since its “successful” but “complicated” merger of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB Fails to State Case Against Payment Processor

The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota recently dismissed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) complaint against a payment processor, Intercept, in a case McGuireWoods has been monitoring.  The Court held that the CFPB failed to adequately plead an unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice under the Consumer Financial Protection… Continue Reading
Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation, Fraud, Deception and False Claims

Will 2017 Be the Year of Insider Trading Reform?

For several years running, insider trading has been among the most high-profile enforcement priorities for both DOJ and the SEC. Unlike most federal criminal law, insider trading remains undefined by statute, having instead been largely judge-made. Unsurprisingly, since the explosion of enforcement actions began, prosecutors and defendants have both pushed the courts to clarify (or… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

D.C. Circuit Grants Rehearing in PHH Case

On Thursday, February 16, 2017, the D.C. Circuit granted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) petition for rehearing en banc in PHH Corporation v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  The Order marks the latest twist in a case that tests the constitutional and statutory limits of the CFPB. As we previously reported, in 2014 an Administrative… Continue Reading

We use cookies to enhance your experience of our website. By continuing to use this website, you agree to the use of these cookies. For more information and to learn how you can change your cookie settings, please see our policy.

Agree