The onset of fall signals a sad realization that summer has ended, but also the joy that “market structure” season has arrived for securities industry participants and policy wonks. Right on cue, in early October, SEC staff issued a report on equity and option market structure conditions related to the…
On March 17, 2021, Acting CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam announced that the derivatives regulator had established a new interdivisional group called the Climate Risk Unit or the “CRU” to focus on the derivatives markets’ role in addressing climate-related risk and transitioning to a low-carbon/net-zero economy. The CRU (sounds like an…
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that it will not enforce its own rule on investment duties under ERISA. The rule makes it more difficult for investment fiduciaries to consider environmental, social, governance and similar (“ESG”) issues in their decision-making. The ESG rule was finalized under the Trump administration…
A flurry of recent climate-related announcements from the SEC forecasts an upcoming policy battle at the agency. Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee has signaled that “ESG” will clearly be in focus across the SEC’s various divisions, including Examinations, Corporation Finance, and Enforcement. Presumptive incoming SEC Chairman Gary Gensler also indicated…
On January 20, 2021, the Biden White House issued a memorandum to the heads of U.S. federal executive departments and agencies requesting a broad regulatory freeze of new and pending rules that were advanced in the final weeks under the Trump Administration. In the memorandum, Ron Klain, Chief of Staff…
On December 27, 2020, the President signed into law the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021” (H.R. 133) (or the “2021 CAA”), which modifies and reopens the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program initially created under the CARES Act. The reopened Paycheck Protection Program is available through March 31, 2021 and,…