Rating Agency Developments - May 2, 2016

Private credit markets are showing signs of stress, with enterprise software borrowers particularly vulnerable as AI disruption threatens their business models. Four critical warning signals—deteriorating credit health, rising PIK interest, mid-market concentration of defaults, and strategic misalignment with AI—suggest lenders need to shift from passive monitoring to active portfolio management before the 2028 debt maturity wall arrives.

On March 3, 2026, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”) and the Emerging Markets Traders Association (“EMTA”) published the 2026 FX Definitions (the “2026 FX Definitions”)...

On August 18, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement Section 3 of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act). The proposal would establish rules governing who may issue payment stablecoins in the United States and when digital asset service providers may offer, sell, or otherwise make payment stablecoins available to U.S. persons. Comments are due October 19, 2026.

The SEC and CFTC have issued coordinated regulatory relief measures that significantly advance crypto-based trading infrastructure in US markets, bypassing Congressional gridlock on the CLARITY Act. These orders establish new frameworks for tokenized securities venues and passive software providers, potentially reshaping how digital assets are traded and accessed in regulated markets.

The SEC's Division of Investment Management has issued groundbreaking no-action relief allowing Franklin Templeton registered funds to custody tokenized shares of a blockchain-integrated government money market fund with an affiliated transfer agent. This marks the first time SEC staff has applied the Investment Company Act's self-custody framework to digital assets, establishing a precedent for how registered funds may hold tokenized securities using blockchain technology and multi-party computation protoc

A publicly traded fintech company has announced a $590 million acquisition of its longtime national bank partner, marking a strategic shift from the traditional bank-partnership model to direct ownership of a national bank charter. The transaction, expected to close in the first half of 2027 pending regulatory approvals, would make the fintech a bank holding company while consolidating its banking activities and eliminating certain sponsor-bank fees. This deal represents a faster alternative to pursuing a d

Fiduciary relationships involve the delegation of authority to an agent who is charged with investing assets for the benefit of third-party beneficiaries.

Moore & Van Allen's Derivatives & Trading team provides comprehensive analysis of recent CFTC and SEC enforcement actions, proposed regulations on crypto assets...

Lowenstein Sandler achieves groundbreaking SEC no-action relief enabling zero cash balance brokerage accounts, while global regulators advance digital asset infrastructure and issue new guidance on AI supervision and prediction market contracts. How are these developments reshaping the intersection of traditional finance, emerging technology, and regulatory oversight?

On May 29, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) took a series of coordinated actions to establish a domestic regulatory framework for perpetual contracts on digital commodities.