Financial Regulatory Developments Focus - Issue 2017

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

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

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.

Loeb & Loeb partner Stephen Cohen attended the Securities and Exchange Commission's (the "SEC") Open Meeting held today at the SEC's offices in which the SEC approved a series of rules related to the implementation of Title IV of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which will impact both advisers and private funds.

FINRA member firms are rapidly deploying AI tools for employee use, creating new opportunities for misuse and compliance challenges. Drawing on decades of internal review experience, this analysis identifies key risk areas that broker-dealer firms should evaluate as AI adoption accelerates across their organizations.

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”)...

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

The CFTC has released its 2026 regulatory priorities agenda under new Chairman Michael Selig, outlining significant proposed changes to commodity pool operator exemptions, large trader reporting requirements, and foreign exchange product classifications. Asset managers participating in commodities and derivatives markets will need to understand how these regulatory modifications may affect their registration obligations, reporting burdens, and treatment of various financial instruments.

The SEC has filed a complaint against Eric Munson and Adit Ventures Management, alleging a multi-year scheme involving misrepresentation to investors, misappropriation of fund assets, and undisclosed conflicts of interest. The case involves over 60 funds with at least 1,000 investors, where the defendants allegedly induced investments through false promises, executed unauthorized loans between funds, and engaged in undisclosed self-dealing transactions while failing to properly register as an investment adv

Today's General Counsel has published an article citing Cadwalader partners Mercedes Tunstall and Andrew Karp where they discuss how the Third Circuit handed down a decision ...

On December 10, OFAC designated three officials of the DPRK for their alleged involvement in perpetrating serious human rights abuses against North Korean citizens.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently closed its investigation into a merger between two leading sales enablement software providers, citing AI competition as a key protective factor against potential competitive harm. This decision offers important insights into how antitrust agencies are evaluating AI-native companies as competitive constraints and implementing more efficient, targeted merger review processes in technology sector transactions.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the dismissal of a securities fraud class action against a biopharmaceutical company, ruling that literally true statements about clinical trial results were not actionable half-truths under securities law. The decision centered on whether the company's statements about the absence of retinal vasculitis cases in drug trials were misleading, despite following FDA-approved protocols that plaintiffs argued were insufficient to detect the condition.

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

The 2026 Italian Budget Law was published in the Italian Official Gazette on December 31, 2025. It introduces significant changes to Italy's tax framework with material implications for investors, financial intermediaries, and multinational groups.

California has enacted a comprehensive package of four bills that fundamentally reshape online safety protections for minors, targeting addictive design features, data privacy practices, age verification systems, and platform liability. These new laws establish strict requirements for social media companies, including mandatory stripped-down interfaces for users under 16, enhanced privacy defaults, and potential damages up to $1 million for negligent harm to children. The legislation represents one of the m

Spain's draft Royal Decree introduces stringent energy sustainability, environmental, resilience and digital sovereignty requirements for data centers, including renewable additionality, hourly correlation, and efficiency standards. The regulation applies to all access and connection permits obtained after entry into force, with specific compliance deadlines for projects in progress and those with granted permits not yet connected to the grid.

The SEC charged Ernst & Young LLP with violations of auditor independence rules that require firms to maintain their objectivity and impartiality with clients.

China's employment landscape is evolving rapidly as employers face economic pressures, technological disruption, and shifting workforce expectations. From AI-driven restructuring to rising workplace disputes and alternative labor models, organizations must navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment while balancing innovation with compliance and employee trust.

A federal judge dismissed a securities fraud class action against former executives of a business communications company, finding that plaintiffs failed to adequately plead actionable misstatements or establish scienter. The court analyzed allegations concerning revenue projections, financial disclosures, and internal controls during the company's transition from hardware to subscription-based software, ultimately determining that forward-looking statements were protected by safe harbor provisions and that