On December 23, 2020, then Governor Andrew Cuomo signed N.Y. CLS Fin. Serv. §§ 801-812 (the “Law”) mandating truth-in-lending style disclosure for small non-bank loans of $2.5 million or less, but only going into effect when final regulations under the Law are published. The N.Y. Department of Financial Services (the “DFS”) adopted final regulations on… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
FTC Proposes to Ban Non-Competes
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) proposed a rule that would effectively ban non-compete clauses between employers and “workers,” to include a broad range of workers such as executives, independent contractors, interns, externs, volunteers, apprentices, and sole proprietors who provide services to a client or customer. Even some unusually broad non-disclosure… Read more »
FinCEN Issues Final Beneficial Ownership Rule
On September 22, 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule (the “Rule”) under the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Corporate Transparency Act thereof. The Rule requires certain entities to report beneficial ownership. “Reporting companies” are (i) domestic entities created by filing with a state… Read more »
SEC Fails to Resolve Confusion Over Securities and Crypto Assets
On July 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) filed a complaint against a former employee of Coinbase, a trading platform for digital assets, and two of his friends, alleging insider trading of securities. The complaint therefore identifies certain digital investment contracts as securities, a position the SEC has taken for some time…. Read more »
FATF Issues Guidance on Virtual Assets Including Stablecoins
In October 2021, the U.S. Financial Action Task Force (the “FATF”) issed Updated Guidance for a Risk Based Approach to Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Providers and a summary of the guidance. In addition to a number of other updates, Part Two, Box 1, deals with so-called stablecoins. Stablecoins purport to maintain a stable relationship… Read more »
N.Y. HERO Act Goes Into Effect
The N.Y. Health and Essential Rights Act (the “N.Y. HERO Act”), signed May 5, 2021, will go into effect Augst 5, 2021, by which time NY employers will need to have in place plans for the next highly contagious airborne infectious disease, although the plans themselves will not need to be commenced until the N.Y…. Read more »
Renewal of Paycheck Protection Program
On December 27, 2020, the Economic Aid Act (the “EAA”) was signed into law. In addition to providing for small checks to Americans and other things, the EAA renewed the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) but under different terms. The prior program ran out in August with money left over. The new law allocates $284.5… Read more »
Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act Becomes Law
On December 18, 2020, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCAA”) was signed into law and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) was advised to adjust its rule proposal to take into account the new legislation. Under the legislation, a reporting company that uses an auditor in a jurisdiction that restricts or controls… Read more »
FINRA Proposes Expanded Filing Requirements for Private Placements
On October 28, 2020, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a proposal for expanding the filing requirements with respect to private placements. Currently, under Rule 5122 FINRA requires a member or one of its affiliates to provide to prospective investors, unless an exemption is available such… Read more »
Cryptocurrency Rules Significantly Broadened in Japan
On April 3, 2020, the Japanese Financial Services Agency issued amended regulations to carry out changes made last year to the Japanese Payment Services Act and Financial Instruments Exchange Act. The new regulations go into effect on May 1, 2020, and reflect major changes in the regulations. While the changes are extensive and beyond the… Read more »