Emergency Guarantee Authority: Not Letting a Crisis Go to Waste

By Graham Steele May 15, 2019 by renholding

Calming the panic in short-term funding markets was a significant part of the response to the 2008 financial crisis. While the TARP bailout programs received the most attention during the crisis, TARP never exceeded one-fifth of the government’s overall financial …

Emergency Guarantee Authority: A FEMA for Finance

By Stephen G. Cecchetti and Kermit L. Schoenholtz May 15, 2019 by renholding

“[I]t is a question of when, not if, a large-scale attack succeeds.” DTCC and Oliver Wyman, Large-scale Cyber-attacks on the Financial System, March 2018.

“The government cannot credibly commit to a no-bailout policy.” Kathryn Judge, “Guarantor of

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Will Putting Title III of Helms-Burton Into Effect Open the Litigation Floodgates?

By Peter Fox May 14, 2019 by renholding

On April 17, 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that President Trump would not suspend for any additional periods of time Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act – better known as “Helms-Burton.”[1] Title …

SEC Chairman Clayton Testifies to Senate on 2020 Budget Request

By Jay Clayton May 14, 2019 by renholding

Chairman Kennedy, Ranking Member Coons and Senators of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget request for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).[1]

It is an honor

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Regulating the Development of Driverless Finance

By Hilary J. Allen May 13, 2019 by renholding

Before permitting driverless cars to operate on the open road without a licensed driver, lawmakers and innovators are working to ensure the safety not only of the passengers in those cars, but also of third parties – particularly other drivers …

ISS Discusses CEO Ownership, Corporate Governance, and Company Performance

By Kosmas Papadopoulos May 13, 2019 by renholding

Ownership structure is perhaps among the most significant corporate governance factors, as it determines the balance of power within a corporation and can directly affect governance practices and company behavior. In our review of CEO ownership, we focus on corporate …

SEC Chairman Clayton Comments on Proposed Amendments to Sarbanes-Oxley

By Jay Clayton May 10, 2019 by renholding

Good morning. This is an open meeting of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under the Government in the Sunshine Act. Our only item on the agenda today is a recommendation from the Division of Corporation Finance to propose amendments

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SEC Commissioner Jackson Dissents from Proposed Amendments to Sarbanes-Oxley

By Robert J. Jackson, Jr. May 10, 2019 by renholding

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the Staff in the Division of Corporation Finance, including John Fieldsend, Elizabeth Murphy, Felicia Kung, Lindsay McCord, and Director Bill Hinman, for their work in developing today’s release. I also appreciate the

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The Myth of Risk Free Markets

By Yesha Yadav May 9, 2019 by renholding

Economies and markets operate on the assumption that U.S. debt securities (“Treasuries”) are risk-free. This means that the United States is expected to pay its debts. Also, Treasuries are supposed to trade easily and efficiently in secondary markets. Unsurprisingly, the …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses DOJ Updates of Guidance on Corporate Compliance Programs

By Jennifer Kennedy Park, Joon H. Kim, Jonathan Kolodner and Lisa Vicens May 9, 2019 by renholding

On April 30, 2019, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “the Department”) announced updated guidance for the Criminal Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (“the Guidance”) in charging and resolving criminal cases.^[1] Assistant Attorney …

How Are Non-Financial and Financial Misconduct Related?

By Aneesh Raghunandan May 8, 2019 by renholding

Companies face strong incentives to meet expectations – whether their own or those of the capital markets. A wide literature shows that this can lead to deceptive behavior by firms, which can amount to anything from overly aggressive accounting to …

What Public Blockchain Protocol Governance Can Learn from Corporate Governance

By Carla L. Reyes May 7, 2019 by renholding

Despite the hype, blockchain technology remains in an early phase of development. Indeed, for many public blockchain protocols, the process of building consensus around the desired trajectory of the code base remains under-conceptualized and informal. Such uncertainty has led to …

ISS Offers an Update on U.S. Director Pay

By Kosmas Papadopoulos May 7, 2019 by renholding

In recent years, non-executive director compensation has received attention in the U.S. Increased board workloads, shifts in director compensation structure (away from meeting fees and towards slightly larger base retainers, for instance), a few instances of shareholder litigation in relation …

SEC Commissioner Jackson Comments on Proposed Rule on Financial Disclosures for Mergers and Acquisitions

By Robert J. Jackson, Jr. May 6, 2019 by renholding

Let me begin by thanking the staff in the Division of Corporation Finance, including Division Director Bill Hinman, for their hard work in developing the May 3 release and for helpful briefings throughout this process.

The May 3 proposal governs …

Cleary Gottlieb on France’s New Framework for Approving ICOs

By Mark A. Adams and Jeanne Theuret May 6, 2019 by renholding

On April 11, 2019, the French parliament adopted a law (the “Loi Pacte”or “Law”)[1] that establishes a new regulatory framework for initial coin offerings (“ICOs”) of blockchain based tokens by entities established or registered in France. At the …

SEC Chief Accountant Talks the Future of Financial Reporting

By Wesley Bricker May 3, 2019 by renholding

I’m grateful for the opportunity to visit Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business and speak at the annual financial reporting conference for the fourth time. Many students who were starting their collegiate work here when I first spoke at this

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Debevoise Discusses SEC Disclosure Changes for Tech, Media, and Telecom Firms

By Jeffrey P. Cunard, Michael Diz, Jonathan E. Levitsky, Paul M. Rodel and C. Chloe Orlando May 3, 2019 by abirvarma

On March 20, 2019, the SEC announced the adoption of amendments to Regulation S-K intended to modernize and simplify disclosure requirements applicable to SEC reporting companies. Highlighted below are two changes of note for companies in the technology, media and …

Beyond Disclosure: A New Way of Examining Securities Regulation

By Jena Martin May 2, 2019 by renholding

When it comes to the U.S. securities markets, the game has changed. Historically, the U.S. securities markets were dominated by retail investors who engaged in a buy and hold strategy: purchasing stocks as a vehicle to invest in a corporation …

Vanguard Talks New Proxy Voting Guidelines With PJT Camberview

By PJT Camberview May 2, 2019 by renholding

Vanguard recently made three significant announcements, including an update to its proxy voting guidelines, changes to proxy voting responsibilities for its external managers and a commentary on its views and approach to corporate governance and sustainable investing.

On Friday, April

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The CLS Blue Sky Blog

Columbia Law School's Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets

May 2019