LATEST REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS IMPACTING
THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY
In pointed and detailed public remarks, Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles said on Monday that the Volcker Rule is “an example of a complex regulation that is not working well” and proposed a number of possible changes to the Volcker Rule.
Earlier this week, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Mick Mulvaney met with state attorneys general at the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) in Washington, DC, in his second public speaking appearance since taking over as acting director at the end of November 2017. While Mulvaney’s prepared remarks did not break new ground, his Q&A session with the state attorneys general was illuminating.
US financial reform at the congressional and regulatory agency levels continues to move along—albeit more in fits and starts than in a blaze of big happenings. Below is a recap on where matters currently stand.
Few topics in the financial news have gotten more attention recently than the rise of cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs), which allow startups to raise money from users in exchange for digital currency. In 2017, ICOs raised more than $3 billion in funding, surpassing early-stage venture capital funding for internet companies, and solidifying ICOs as a financing strategy among tech entrepreneurs.
Less than a year after the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced Vision 2020, an initiative to modernize state regulation for non-bank financial companies, the CSBS revealed plans to establish a standardized licensing practice for money services businesses.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, sitting en banc, held on Wednesday that the unitary and insulated directorship of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is constitutional.
In an op-ed published in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal publicly reprising an email he sent yesterday to the staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Acting Director Mick Mulvaney set a clear new course, tone, and direction for the bureau.
Recent events in the cryptocurrency markets, including the wild swings in the trading prices of bitcoin, the growing incidence of initial coin offerings (ICOs) entailing the offer and sale of unregistered securities, and the launch of bitcoin futures trading, have encouraged the federal government to ratchet up its interest in virtual currencies.
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has just issued a memorandum (AG Memo) rescinding prior US Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance on the federal prosecution of marijuana offenses, including the 2013 “Cole Memorandum” (Cole Memo) and subsequent guidance regarding marijuana-related financial crimes (Financial Crimes Memo).