On August 28, FINRA filed with the SEC a notice of proposed rule change that would extend the 120-day period that certain individuals can function as a principal or Operations Professional without having successfully passed an appropriate qualification examination through December 31, 2020. Earlier this year, in response to COVID-19, FINRA provided…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has filed a proposed amendment to the standardized membership application forms, Form NMA (New Membership Application Form) and Form CMA (Continuing Membership Application Form). The proposed amendments are non-substantive and technical changes that are intended to conform with the amended Membership Application Program rules that create…
On August 28, the SEC amended and extended the temporary final rules adopted earlier this year that were intended to facilitate capital formation for small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The temporary final rules will continue to provide limited, conditional relief from certain Regulation Crowdfunding requirements that relate to the timing of the…
On August 26, the SEC adopted amendments to the definition of “accredited investor” under Rules 501(a) and 215 of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) and adopted amendments to the “qualified institutional buyer” (QIB) definition under Rule 144A of the Securities Act. Historically, individual investors who do not meet specific income…
On September 14, FinCEN issued a final rule that requires minimum standards for anti-money laundering programs for banks lacking a federal functional regulator, including state chartered non-depository trust companies, private banks and non-federally insured credit unions. Under the final rule, these institutions will be required to establish and implement anti-money laundering programs,…
On September 11, the SEC announced that it has adopted final rules to update and expand the statistical disclosures that bank and savings and loan registrants provide to investors, in light of changes in this sector over the past 30 years. The rules also eliminate certain disclosure items that are duplicative of…
On August 24, the SBA issued an interim final rule revising the PPP’s owner-employee compensation rule and clarifying loan forgiveness for certain non-payroll costs. Specifically, the interim final rule exempted owner-employees with less than a 5% ownership stake in a C- or S-Corporation from the owner-employee compensation rule’s limitations on the amount…
Administrators of defined contribution retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans, are required under ERISA to provide participants with periodic pension benefits statement. On August 18, EBSA released an interim final rule (IFR) that requires such administrators to include two lifetime income illustrations on such statements – one as a single life annuity…
On August 18, the CFPB issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to create a new category of seasoned qualified mortgages (Seasoned QMs). A Seasoned QM would be defined by the following characteristics: (1) fixed-rate covered transaction; (2) secured by a first-lien; (3) loan term of no more than 30 years; (4)…
On August 5, the SEC proposed modifying the disclosure framework for mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (funds) registered on Form N-1A. The proposed modifications, which derive from the SEC’s investor experience initiative, would create a new layered disclosure regime that attempts to simplify disclosure and scale down the level of detail currently…