Columbia Law School
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Finance & Economics
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back? Stablecoins and the Global Dollar System
Since the Second World War, the U.S. dollar has been the dominant global currency for trade, settlement, and reserve purposes. As other countries seek to move away from the dollar system, key U.S. policymakers believe that the rise of dollar …
Cleary Discusses Labor Department’s Proposed Rule on 401(k)s and Alternative Assets
On March 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (the DOL) published its heavily anticipated proposed rule entitled “Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives” (the Proposed Rule).[1] Over the years, sponsors of private funds and other investment vehicles …
How to Make Private Equity in Retirement Savings Work
With the U.S. Department of Labor’s recent proposed rule, Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives, retail investors’ access to private assets comes ever closer to reality, though not without controversy. The battle lines are unsurprising: Private asset managers …
Private Equity Is Coming for Law Firms—and the Rules Aren’t Ready
In January 2026, Dudley DeBosier—a leading Louisiana personal-injury firm—announced a high-profile private equity partnership. The deal used a management services organization, or MSO: a split-entity workaround in which attorneys keep ownership of the law firm while a PE-backed vehicle …
Simpson Thacher Discusses Basel III Endgame Evolution
On March 19, 2026, the federal banking agencies issued a package of proposed changes to the regulatory capital requirements for banking institutions of all sizes, from the largest GSIBs and super-regional banks to community banks. This package of proposals (the …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Warnings to Bank CEOs About Cybersecurity Risks of Anthropic’s New AI Model
On April 7, 2026, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell convened an urgent, closed-door meeting with the CEOs of some of the nation’s largest banks to discuss the cybersecurity risks posed by Anthropic’s newly announced AI …
When Tailored Bank Supervision Becomes Structured Delay
Silicon Valley Bank’s failure exposed many familiar weaknesses: uninsured deposits, interest-rate risk, a concentrated depositor base, and weak interest-rate hedging. But the more revealing lesson lies one layer deeper. The supervisory failure was not simply that regulators missed red flags …
RoughriderCoin and the Limitations of Stablecoins in Public Banking
The GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, provides a federal regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers, including a carveout that, under certain conditions, allows states to oversee issuers of less than $10 billion. After the law went into effect, the …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Proposed FSOC Changes to Nonbank SIFI Designation Guidance
On March 25, 2026, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the “Council”) unanimously voted to propose amendments to its interpretive guidance (the “Proposed Interpretive Guidance”) regarding the designation of nonbank financial companies as “systemically important financial institutions” (“SIFIs”) for supervision by …
The Simplification of Banking Organizations’ Balance Sheets After the Financial Crisis
Difficulties in valuing the assets and liabilities of the largest banking organizations aggravated the 2007-08 financial crisis. Regulation under the Dodd-Frank Act sought to increase transparency and reduce complexity among these institutions. With the benefit of significant hindsight, it is …
Paul Weiss Discusses Third Circuit Ruling on Exclusive CFTC Jurisdiction Over Sports-Related Event Contracts
On April 6, 2026, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has exclusive jurisdiction over sports-related event contracts offered by Kalshi, becoming the first federal …
Intellectual Property Collateral and the Governance of Innovation Finance
Over the past several decades, the idea of what counts as corporate value has changed dramatically. Firms across technology, healthcare, and life sciences increasingly derive competitive advantage from intangible assets rather than physical capital. These assets include patents, software, proprietary
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Future Equity, Present Value: The Law and Economics of SAFEs
Early-stage startups need to raise small amounts of money quickly, cheaply, and repeatedly, often when they have very little to show to prospective investors. At this stage, it is far too early to negotiate the terms traditional venture deals are …
Cleary Discusses Prediction Market Considerations for Public Companies
Prediction markets allow participants to trade contracts on whether or not real-world events will occur. These platforms have grown rapidly, and contracts tied to specific company activity are now actively trading, including contracts on IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, earnings call …
Sidley Discusses CFTC Guidance, Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Prediction Markets
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or the Commission), under Chairman Michael Selig’s leadership, has taken an expansive view of its authority over prediction markets, arguing that the agency has exclusive jurisdiction over event contracts traded on designated contract …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses FDIC Rescission of Policy Statement Limiting Participation of Private Investors in Failed-Bank Acquisitions
To encourage the participation of private investors such as private equity firms in the acquisition of failed banks, the FDIC on March 19 approved the rescission of its 2009 Statement of Policy on the Qualifications for Failed Bank Acquisitions.[1]…
Davis Polk Discusses Federal Banking Agency Guidance on Capital Treatment of Tokenized Securities
Banking organizations must ensure that a tokenized security confers identical legal rights as its non-tokenized counterpart to qualify for the same capital treatment as the non-tokenized form of the security, according to new guidance from the federal banking agencies.
Overview
…Simpson Thacher Discusses OCC’s First Comprehensive Federal Rulemaking for Stablecoin Issuers
On February 25, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) issued a proposal to implement significant portions of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, known as the GENIUS Act (the “Act”), which …
How Evolving Market Structure Has Shaped the Formation and Movement of Liquidity
For many years, liquidity was often conceptualized through the lens of continuous exchange trading. That framework suggests a system in which liquidity is stable, transparent, and readily accessible, like a placid lake.
In calm markets, liquidity feels effortless. Trading is