Compliance

DOJ RESCINDS PRIOR GUIDANCE ON MONITORSHIPS — NO LONGER DISFAVORED

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BIG News Out of DOJ Re: Monitorships: “To the extent that prior Justice Department guidance suggested that monitorships are disfavored or are the exception, I am rescinding that guidance. Instead, I am making clear that the department is free to require the imposition of independent monitors whenever it is appropriate to do so in order to satisfy our prosecutors that a company is living up to its compliance and disclosure obligations under the DPA or NPA.” — Deputy AG Lisa Monaco.

Announcement is here:  https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/deputy-attorney-general-lisa-o-monaco-gives-keynote-address-abas-36th-national-institute

 

 

 

NYDFS ANNOUNCES PROPOSED REGULATION TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY IN SMALL BUSINESS LOANS; FIRST BY NEW SUPERINTENDENT

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NYDFS announced a new proposed regulation designed to improve transparency for small businesses seeking commercial loans. The regulation applies to companies offering commercial financing in amounts under $2.5 million, requiring them to make standardized disclosures about credit terms. The regulation implements legislation enacted by the State legislature earlier this year. It is the first proposed regulation issued by recently appointed Acting Superintendent Harris.

 

The proposed regulation may be found here:

https://www.dfs.ny.gov/reports_and_publications/press_releases/pr202109211

 

 

 

A DEFICIENCY LETTER TO (NOT FROM) THE SEC: PLEASE PROVIDE MORE TRANSPARENCY WHEN CHARGING A CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER WITH PERSONAL LIABILITY

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Its time to send a deficiency letter to the SEC — the agency needs to do a better job of providing transparency when issuing an enforcement action against a compliance officer. See my latest post on the NYU Program on Corporate Compliance & Enforcement Blog.   Link is below: A Deficiency Letter to (Not From) The … Read more

MATTHEW LEVINE JOINS “BANK TALK” PODCAST ON THE ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING ACT OF 2020

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Matthew Levine joined Trish Sullivan of Deutschebank and Chris Boehing of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison to discuss the new anti-money laundering amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act for theis episode of the International Institute of Banker’s podcast “Bank Talk.”   The podcast can be found here:    

WHAT IS A REGULATOR’S FAVORITE SNACK? LOW HANGING FRUIT — RISK ALERT FROM SEC DIVISION OF EXAMINATIONS

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What is a regulator’s favorite snack? Low hanging fruit: the recent Risk Alert from the SEC’s Division of Examinations concerning Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) for Broker-Dealers indicates a cornucopia. Some examples found by the Division:
– Firms failing to report as suspicious large deposits of low-priced securities that were immediately followed by liquidation of those positions and wiring out of the proceeds
– Firms failing to report noticeable customer sales of shares occurring simultaneously with explicit promotional activity
– Firms failing to tailor red flags to address risks associated with trading activity commonly engaged in by customers
– For cyber-intrusions, firms failing to include in a SAR known details concerning the nature of the scheme, including theft of assets or funds

Periodic check ups on policies, procedures, governance and systems surrounding SAR reporting are a key means of avoiding the consequences of a deficiency letter or enforcement action.  The alert is here:

https://www.sec.gov/files/aml-risk-alert.pdf