Rules & Proposals

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 Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has released a new directive outlining the agency’s procedures for reviewing contractor compensation practices that promises “greater transparency, consistency, and efficiency in compliance evaluations.”

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.

Compliance Week on Monday announced the hiring of Barbara Boehler as its new Director of Programming. She will play a leading role in planning all live CW events in addition to developing in-depth reports, surveys, and Webinars.

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.”

One simple tweet from Tesla’s outspoken founder speaks to volumes of compliance and regulatory concerns.

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 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.

A recent public rulemaking petition asks the SEC to prohibit guidance that becomes binding and enforceable. A separate petition seeks more detailed revenue breakdowns in banks’ 10-K filings.

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.

President Trump has asked the SEC for a plan to “stop quarterly reporting and go to a six-month system.” It revives a longstanding, long-debated argument in the corporate and shareholder communities.

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."

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a complaint against Facebook for “violating the Fair Housing Act by allowing landlords and home sellers to use its advertising platform to engage in housing discrimination.”

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.

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.

New legislation clarifies and strengthens ability of government agencies to review, and potentially block, cross-border deals in the name of national security. 

The general public, ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for public comment, has offered constructive criticism of the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest.