SEC and CFTC Differ in their Approach to Temporary Relief Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act gives authority to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate security-based swaps, while the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will generally be responsible for swaps markets.  Both the SEC and CFTC have recently announced temporary relief will be available…

Firms Oppose FDIC Claw Back Provision On Wednesday (July 6, 2011), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) voted on a rule allowing the government to recover payments from both senior executives and directors who the FDIC determines to be “substantially responsible” for a financial firm’s failure. This rule, known as the “claw back provision,” is…

Dodd-Frank’s Impact on Private Equity Firms – Limited Private Fund Exemption For hedge funds and private equity firms, anxiety over the new regulations brought by Dodd-Frank pivots on Title VII and a simple dilemma: new paperwork to be done and no one to do it. However, there is a loophole. Dodd-Frank expands the requirements on…

Will SEC, CFTC Budget Cuts Impede Dodd-Frank? It was not shocking to hear that both the SEC and the CFTC would have to extend their rulemaking deadlines, as their newly found responsibilities stemming from Dodd-Frank are certainly burdensome. It would have been nearly impossible for both agencies to cooperatively define key terms relating to the…

Fireworks over Dodd-Frank As the United States celebrates her birthday amidst the financial reform that is Dodd-Frank, many people both at home and abroad are unhappy with the legislation and its potential repercussions. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-27/fed-s-hoenig-sees-economic-danger-in-big-financial-companies.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/28/dodd-frank-fail-hoenig_n_885900.html http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2011-06-29/amf-jouyet-dodd-frank-emir-europe-us?mod=sectionheadlines-IB-AM http://www.cnbc.com/id/43318967/Geithner_Triggers_Asian_Backlash_on_Regulation

SEC Re-defines Family Office With the enactment of Dodd-Frank comes the end of the exemption historically granted to family offices under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.  In the past, investors with fewer than 15 clients could take advantage of the Act’s “private adviser exemption.”  But with Dodd-Frank eliminating this exclusion, family offices are no…

SEC Finalizes Whistleblowing Rules With all the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has on its plate, one may wonder why the whistleblower provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act were one of the first to be finalized. These provisions will become effective August 12, 2011. The whistleblower provisions are perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Dodd-Frank…

Definition of “Commodity Pool” Expanded July 16 The CFTC is proposing to grant temporary relief from certain provisions of Dodd-Frank that will delay the requirement that a person register as a commodity trading advisor (“CTA”), for those persons whose  advice regarding commodity interests involves swaps, or commodity pool operator (“CPO”), for those persons who operate…

The most radical changes in law firm billing which have occurred during the last two years has been the advent of value billing Alternative Fee Arrangements (“AFA’s). These billing arrangements are aimed at destroying or at least seriously maiming the invidious hourly billing process, which creates economic incentives for inefficiency. The hourly rate may be…

Brazil and Argentina lead South America in Derivatives Regulation In the midst of the sweeping global financial reform, U.S. regulators could look to Brazil for some guidance on the derivatives market. The Brazilian monetary authorities regulate and supervise the financial sector tightly and have always adopted a very restrictive approach in the derivatives market.   Brazil…