The Filing Cabinet

The time has come to reform America’s stock markets. That was the message from SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson during a speech this week at George Mason University, where he laid out potential changes. 

As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau weakens, state agencies—mini-CFPBs if you will—may step up to fill the void.

The House Financial Services Committee this week advanced 12 bills. Among them is a modification of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act so that small, privately owned non-custodial brokers and dealers are no longer required to hire PCAOB-registered audit firms to meet annual reporting obligations.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, in a statement on Friday, said it is “closely monitoring the effects of Hurricane Florence” on investors and capital markets. It will consider extending deadlines for filings and other regulatory requirements.

Reacting, in part, to a recent statement by banking regulators regarding the role of guidance in their regulatory regimes, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton has clarified his own views on the topic.

On Friday, the National Labor Relations Board will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register regarding its joint-employer standard, a policy that will particularly affect franchise owners.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced the appointment of new experts from outside the federal government to the Consumer Advisory Board, Community Bank Advisory Council, and Credit Union Advisory Council.

With a vote of the full Senate this week, Elad Roisman, a Republican nominated to replace Michael Piwowar, was confirmed to the Commission with bipartisan support. He was opposed by only 14 Democrats in the final vote.

The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology has launched a collaborative project “to develop a voluntary privacy framework to help organizations manage risk.”

Total pay for outside directors at the nation’s largest corporations increased by a mere 3 percent in 2017, driven by increases in cash and stock compensation, according to a new analysis by Willis Towers Watson.

The North American Securities Administrators Association says more than 200 active investigations of  crypto-currency-related investment products are currently underway by state and provincial securities regulators in the United States and Canada as part of “Operation Cryptosweep.”

The SEC has announced that it may take until November for initial phases of its ambitious, but often delayed, Consolidated Audit Trail to begin initial operations.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has is now seeking public comments on the best ways to modernize the regulatory the Community Reinvestment Act.

The CFPB’s student loan ombudsman may have quit, but he is not going quietly. “After 10 months under your leadership, it has become clear that consumers no longer have a strong, independent consumer bureau on their side,” Seth Frotman told his former boss, Acting Director Mick Mulvaney.

The Senate Banking Committee, on Thursday, approved the nomination of Elad Roisman for the Securities and Exchange Commission. He now heads to a confirmation vote by the full Senate.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Aug. 21 unanimously approved final amendments clarifying and simplifying its regulations governing chief compliance officer duties and annual compliance reporting requirements for futures commission merchants, swap dealers, and major swap participants.

The SEC has adopted amendments intended to enhance transparency in the municipal securities market. The amendments focus on material financial obligations that could effect liquidity, creditworthiness, and existing security holders’ rights.

The SEC has announced efforts to streamline certain disclosure requirements that have become “duplicative, overlapping, or outdated in light of other Commission disclosure requirements, and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles."

A group of Senate Democrats is urging leading technology companies to ensure that the publication of 3-D gun printing materials, which violate their terms of service, is not allowed on their platforms.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has introduced a controversial legislative proposal that requires American corporations with more than $1 billion in annual revenue to obtain a federal charter from a newly formed Office of United States Corporations at the Department of Commerce.

All 49 Democrats on the U.S. Senate have written to CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney, urging him to forgo reported plans to end examinations for Military Lending Act compliance.

Compliance Week is conducting a short survey of GRC professionals to find out the challenges you face in selecting the right technology solution for your organization. If you participate, we will send you at no cost our “Practical Guide to Compliance Technology” special report.

The recently filed Stop Overdraft Profiteering Act of 2018 would ban overdraft fees on debit card transactions and ATM withdrawals and limit fees placed for checks and recurring payments.

The CFPB will amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to allow banks that meet certain requirements to be exempt from sending annual privacy notices to their customers.

In response to yet another member of Congress charged with insider trading, Reps. Tom Reed and Kathleen Rice will introduce a House resolution to prohibit fellow legislators from serving on corporate boards.