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The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations (the Staff) recently issued a risk alert reminding broker-dealers (firms) of their obligations under anti-money laundering (AML) rules and regulations, in particular requirements related to monitoring for and reporting of suspicious activity (AML …
Continue Reading SEC Continues Focus on Broker-Dealer Anti-Money Laundering Compliance

A recent SEC conditional no-action position (the “No-Action Statement”) has further opened the regulatory door to trading of digital asset securities (“DAS”), by allowing certain limited purpose DAS-only broker-dealers to maintain custody of these securities on behalf of customers.  Efforts to meet the SEC staff’s prior guidance that broker-dealers generally…
Continue Reading SEC Takes No-Action Position on Custody of Digital Asset Securities by Special Purpose Broker-Dealers

The Securities and Exchange Commission acted on the first of its proposals to substantially revamp the regulations concerning equity market data by issuing an order directing the national securities exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to propose a new National Market System equity market data plan. The new plan,…
Continue Reading SEC Issues Order Requiring Changes to NMS Plan Governance

The SEC recently proposed amendments to the current market data infrastructure to expand the content required to be published on the consolidated tape and decentralize the collection, consolidation, and dissemination of market data through the introduction of proposed competing consolidators and self-aggregators.

Please see our client memorandum for more details.…
Continue Reading SEC Proposes Changes to Market Data Infrastructure

In a step forward for the digital transformation of banking and partnerships between banks and FinTechs, the FDIC released proposed changes to its brokered deposit regulations in late December 2019. The proposed changes are designed to update the regulatory framework as much as possible within the constraints of the existing…
Continue Reading Encouraging Innovation: Brokered Deposits—What Fintechs Need to Know to Partner with Banks under the FDIC’s Proposed Regulations

On June 21, 2019, the SEC adopted security-based swap (SBS) capital, margin and segregation requirements (the SEC Rules) for SBS dealers (SBSDs) and major SBS participants, revised the capital and segregation requirements for broker-dealers that are not SBSDs to the extent they engage in SBS…
Continue Reading Visual Memorandum: SEC’s Security-Based Swap Capital, Margin and Segregation Rules

Broker-dealer custody of on-blockchain assets has been a key hurdle in the development of a more regulated financial infrastructure for digital assets in the United States.  In a joint statement (the Joint Statement), the staffs of the SEC and FINRA outlined their concerns about broker-dealers’ ability to comply with…
Continue Reading Davis Polk Client Memorandum: SEC and FINRA Staffs Highlight Broker-Dealer Regulatory Challenges Raised by Digital Assets—And Hint at Solutions

The SEC adopted its long-awaited Regulation Best Interest, establishing new standard of conduct regulations for SEC-registered broker-dealers and their associated persons that are natural persons.  At the same time, the SEC adopted (i) a new relationship summary disclosure requirement, on Form CRS, for broker-dealers and investment advisers who offer services…
Continue Reading Davis Polk Visual Memorandum: SEC Adopts Regulation Best Interest, Form CRS and Related Advisers Act Interpretations

Earlier this month, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and Division of Trading and Markets Director Brett Redfearn engaged in a public dialogue on equity market structure issues.  In addition to reviewing three equity market structure initiatives adopted by the SEC in 2018 (the transaction fee pilot, enhanced order handling …
Continue Reading Chairman Jay Clayton and Director Brett Redfearn Preview Potential Further Equity Market Structure Reforms—Exchange Market Data Business Model Targeted

As 2018 came to a close, U.S. financial regulators continued to pursue anti-money laundering (“AML”) enforcement actions against financial institutions, announcing monetary penalties against and resolutions with three U.S. broker-dealers.  The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the…
Continue Reading U.S. Regulators Announce BSA/AML Enforcement Actions Against U.S. Broker-Dealers