Sky Blog
Yesterday afternoon, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) released a discussion draft of “The Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015” (the “Discussion Draft”). This proposed legislation would significantly amend certain aspects of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer …
On May 12, 2015, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) jointly issued the CFTC’s final interpretation clarifying its interpretation concerning forward contracts with embedded volumetric optionality (“Final Interpretation”). The Final Interpretation appears to signal …
The debate over asset managers’ potential systemic risk has been ongoing for some years, with little agreement between the industry, US regulators, and global standard setting bodies. US regulators themselves have been divided – the SEC has in particular been …
Bagehot, as in Walter Bagehot, was mentioned no less than seven times in the decision splitting the baby in the AIG trial.[1] A nineteenth century British commentator, Bagehot was among the first to recognize that too little liquidity could …
On April 30, 2015, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) approved for publication in the Federal Register proposed amendments to the trade option exemption (the “Proposal”) that would reduce reporting and recordkeeping requirements for trade option counterparties that are not …
The AIG decision (actually, Starr International Co. v. The United States[1]) has shocked many but for the wrong reason. Some commentators have focused on the ingratitude of Maurice Greenberg, AIG’s former CEO and the “architect” of its international …
On April 28, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it awarded the maximum allowable award to a whistleblower under the Dodd-Frank whistleblower program in its first case involving alleged retaliation by an employer against an employee who …
On April 29, 2015, the SEC issued a proposing release regarding the so-called “pay versus performance” disclosure mandated by Section 953(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The proposed rules would require certain companies registered under …
It has long been assumed that shareholders’ rights in the United States diminished considerably through the 20th century as a result of a competition among states to attract and retain corporations. More recently, various commentators have disputed the significance …
Last week, along with our co-authors Kate Andrias and Michael Barr of the University of Michigan Law School, we filed an amicus brief on behalf of fifteen professors of law and finance in MetLife v. Financial Stability Oversight Council. …
Let me begin by thanking the organizers for inviting me to participate in this important dialogue on the role of finance in society. The financial sector is vital to the economy. A well-functioning financial sector promotes job creation, innovation, and …
Thank you, David, for that kind introduction. I am very honored to address the Garrett Institute, one of the most important programs in the country for corporate and securities lawyers, and to be in David’s home territory of Northwestern Law …
On March 25, 2015, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (“CSBS”) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (“AARMR”) issued for a 90-day public comment period a proposed set of baseline prudential regulatory standards for nonbank mortgage servicers and …
The 2007-2009 financial crisis was a watershed event that shook the confidence of people around the globe in the stability of the international financial system. The crisis demonstrated a failure of market discipline and the government responses only exacerbated this …
On March 26, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB” or the “Bureau”) announced that it will be considering rules imposing significant structural limitations and other requirements on payday and similar loans: (1) short-term (45 days or less) loans …
Financial panics are pernicious, but they can be countered with government guarantees of panic-prone debt. In the wake of the crisis, however, Congress has stripped regulators of this sort of guarantee power, motivated in large part by concerns that such …
Thank you, Hal [Scott], for that kind introduction. I apologize for not being able to address you in person. Back in 2013, I opened a speech to the American Academy in Berlin with a bit of German.[1] While I …
Good morning. Thank you for that kind introduction. It is my honor to deliver the opening remarks for today’s North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) 19(d) Conference. For those who are keeping count, this …
On April 1, 2015, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed its first whistleblower protection case involving confidentiality obligations imposed on employees.[1] The SEC charged Houston-based technology and engineering firm KBR Inc. with violating Rule 21F-17, which prohibits all …
Following a familiar historical pattern, policy responses to the latest global financial crisis and subsequent economic and political dysfunction can be divided into three sequenced but overlapping phases. The first phase was a period of “wartime”-style emergency measures hastily fashioned …