Jim Hamilton's World of Securities Regulation: Corporate & Securities Law

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Corporate & Securities Law Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Corporate & Securities Law

Jim Hamilton's World of Securities Regulation

Opines on every level of securities regulation (federal, state, international, theoretical) covering market players of all types (e.g., accountants, broker-dealers, foreign issuers, hedge funds, market manipulators) who engage all sorts of transactions and activities (acquisitions, financial reporting, private placements, pyramid schemes). Highlights issues of particular importance to securities lawyers and their clients with emphasis on SEC rulemaking, industry trends, and the many curiosities that inhabit this world.
By Jim Hamilton

Post Frequency: 15.3/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 16:29:00

SEC Directors Testify before House Subcommittee on Budget Concerns and Dodd-Frank Implementation

Posted on March 10, 2011
Directors of five SEC divisions testified before Congress against the backdrop of a fierce debate over the Commission?s funding for FY 2012. The Directors jointly stated that their divisions are reforming and improving operations. As part of that effort, they have revitalized and restructured enforcement and examination functions, revamped the handling of tips and complaints, taken steps to break down internal silos and create a culture of collaboration, improved risk assessment capabilities, recruited more staff with specialized expertise and real world experience, and enhanced safeguards for investors' assets...

Alberta Appeals Court Rules that Canadian Government Not Empowered to Enact Federal Securities Code

Posted on March 09, 2011
The Alberta Court of Appeals has ruled that the Government of Canada does not have the constitutional authority to enact a federal securities code for the entire country. In looking at the Government?s draft Canadian Securities Act , the appeals court said that a federal takeover of the securities industry cannot be justified as being ancillary to the general economic management of the Canadian economy...

Chairman Bachus Says Overly Broad SEC Proposed Municipal Advisor Rules Would Sweep In Thousands of Bank Employees

Posted on March 09, 2011
Section 975 of Dodd-Frank directs the SEC to set up an effective registration and examination program for municipal financial advisors. While he supports the SEC?s efforts to police this segment of the municipal market, House Financial Services Committee Chair Spencer Bachus (R-AL) does not support proposed Rules 15Ba1-1 and 15Ba1-7 because they are overly broad and would reach significantly more people than Congress intended...

Ohio Guides Advisers on the Switch from Federal to State Advisory Status under Dodd-Frank Act

Posted on March 08, 2011
Investment advisers transacting business in Ohio are being guided by the State on how to switch their advisory status from federal to state because their total amount of assets under management is (or will be) no more than $100 million on July 21, 2011, the date the ?switch? is required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Mass. Attorney General Urges SEC to Clear Up Market Confusion Over Rating Agency Liability in Light of Dodd-Frank?s Nullification of Rule 436(g)

Posted on March 08, 2011
In a letter to the SEC, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley urged the Commission to enforce legal requirements against credit rating agencies established under the Dodd-Frank Act in order to protect investors and avert another lending crisis...

EU Economic Affairs Committee Working on Draft Derivatives Legislation with Expanded Role for ESMA

Posted on March 08, 2011
Work on EU legislation to regulate derivatives trading has begun officially in the Economic Affairs Committee with the presentation of draft legislation by Werner Langen (MEP, DE), who will be steering the legislation through Parliament. Mr. Langen said that the legislation should govern only privately-traded derivatives rather than all kinds, as some Member States had wished...

Draft EU Regulation Would Deal Ban Naked Credit Default Swaps and Crack Down on Short-Selling and Sovereign Debt Speculation

Posted on March 08, 2011
The EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee approved a draft regulation banning naked credit default swaps and certain trades in sovereign bonds. With regard to shoert selling, the regulation would require traders to settle their uncovered positions by the end of each trading day...

Kansas Requires IA Applicants and Registrants to Submit New Part of Form ADV

Posted on March 08, 2011
Applicants for investment adviser registration in Kansas, as well as currently registered investment advisers, must submit new Part 2 of Form ADV as part of their application and amendments, respectively, and submit it electronically through the IARD...

UK Regulator Replaces Higgs Report with Corporate Governance Guidance Focusing on Roles of Corporate Secretary and Senior Independent Director

Posted on March 07, 2011
The Financial Reporting Council has issued new guidance under the UK Corporate Governance Code to replace the best practices suggested by the 2006 Higgs Report. This new guidance relates primarily to Code sections on the corporate secretary and the senior independent director and the effectiveness of the board of directors...

UK Minister Supports Proportionate Audit and Reporting Standards for Smaller Companies

Posted on March 07, 2011
As part of an overall drive to reduce regulatory burdens for small companies, the UK Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable, said that the government intends to change the law to simplify the audit rules for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and the subsidiaries of larger companies, thereby saving UK companies up to tens of millions in unnecessary audit fees...

CFTC Commissioner Concerned that Proposed Regulations Implementing Dodd-Frank Derivatives Regime Differ with EU Draft Legislation

Posted on March 07, 2011
While recognizing that harmonizing CFTC and SEC regulations implementing the derivatives provisions of Dodd-Frank with foreign regulatory counterparts is necessary for reducing systemic risk and limiting regulatory arbitrage, CFTC Commissioner Jill Sommers fears that differences with EU draft legislation regulating derivatives are growing...

Global Audit Firms Comment on Dodd-Frank Mandated SEC Study on Extraterritorial Reach of Federal Securities Laws

Posted on March 07, 2011
In comments to the SEC, large global audit networks, including the Big Four, said that a new extraterritorial private action for cross-border securities fraud in connection with purchases and sales of securities outside the United States should not be created...

Securities Industry Urges SEC and CFTC to Consider the Cross-Border Application of Proposed Swap Dealer Regulations under Dodd-Frank

Posted on March 06, 2011
In a letter to the SEC and CFTC, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association urged the Commissions to carefully consider comity and the extraterritorial application of the derivatives provisions in Title VII of Dodd-Frank when adopting swap dealer regulations for a global marketplace...

FSA Chief Envisions New UK Financial Conduct Authority as Interventionist, Consumer-Driven and Primarily Rules-Based

Posted on March 06, 2011
The role of the Financial Conduct Authority under the UK?s new financial regulatory regime should emphasize early and pro-active intervention, strong enforcement and redress, and a determination to improve the consumer experience, in the view of Financial Services Authority Chief Executive Hector Sants...

Two Senate Chairs Urge Fed to Follow Legislative Intent in Implementing Dodd-Frank Interchange Rule

Posted on March 04, 2011
In a letter to the Fed, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) and Senator. Debbie Stabenow urged the regulator to follow the clear legislative intent when implementing the interchange fee provision of the Dodd-Frank Act. Specifically, they asked the Fed to consider the potential impact on small issuers and ensure that the $10 billion exemption provided by Section 1075 of Dodd-Frank is effective...

SEC Chair Pledges Consistent Cross-Border Derivatives Regulation in Senate Testimony

Posted on March 03, 2011
As the SEC and CFTC implement the derivatives regulatory regime mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, SEC Chair Mary Schapiro pledged to consult with non-US securities and financial regulators in an effort to promote consistent standards and avoid conflicting requirements, where possible...

SEC General Counsel Responds to House Financial Services Chair Spencer Bachus? Inquiries on Madoff Fraud

Posted on March 03, 2011
At the request of SEC Chair Mary Schapiro, SEC General Counsel David Becker responded to a letter from House Financial Services Chair Spencer Bachus (R-AL) asking for a response on a series of questions regarding SEC General Counsel David Becker, who is a defendant in a clawback lawsuit initiated by Irving Picard, the trustee in the Bernard L...

Lousiana Requires New Part 2 of Form ADV for IAs

Posted on March 03, 2011
Applicants registering as investment advisers for the first time in Louisiana must submit Part 2 of Form ADV through the IARD.Registrants must include new Part 2 with their next filing of an amendment or annual updating amendment, whichever "filing" occurs first...

District Court: Dodd-Frank Arbitration Ban for Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Cases Applied Retroactively

Posted on March 02, 2011
A federal district court held that the Dodd-Frank Act ban on pre-dispute arbitration agreements for whistleblower claims under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act applied to alleged misconduct that occurred before enactment of the Wall Street reform legislation...

Securities Industry Urges SEC and CFTC Not to Regulate Investment Companies and ERISA Plans as Major Swap Participants

Posted on March 01, 2011
SEC-registered investment companies, ERISA plans and funds regulated under the EU UCITS Directive should not be regulated as major swap participants and major security-based swap participants under SEC and CFTC rules implementing the Dodd-Frank derivatives provisions, in the view of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association...

Pennsylvania Sets Time-Table for Filing New Part 2 of Form ADV

Posted on March 01, 2011
Investment adviser applicants must electronically file through the IARD Parts 1(A) and 1(B), and new Part 2(A) [the firm brochure], Part 2(A) Appendix 1 [Wrap Fee Program Brochure, if applicable], and Part 2(B) [brochure supplements] of Form ADV, effective immediately...

Business Groups Urge Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to Defer Rulemaking Until Director Confirmed

Posted on March 01, 2011
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, a business consortium, including the Chamber of Commerce, urged that rulemaking and enforcement actions by the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection be deferred until the confirmation of a Director...

Colorado Requires IAs to File New Part 2 of Form ADV

Posted on March 01, 2011
Investment advisers must, starting April 1, 2011, file a new Part 2 of Form ADV electronically with the IARD.Please see http://www.dora.state.co.us/. Choose "Division of Securities" along the left pane to find the memorandum down the center of the Division of Securities page.

In Comments to European Commission, Big Four Oppose Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation and Endorse Market-Driven Selection of Outside Auditor

Posted on February 28, 2011
In comments on a broad and historic European Commission proposal to reform the system of outside audit of financial statements, the Big Four audit firms opposed mandatory audit firm rotation and endorsed the current market-driven selection of outside auditors...

Senator Levin Says No Exemptions from SEC Rules Implementing Dodd-Frank Disclosure of Payments on Oil and Gas Extraction

Posted on February 28, 2011
In a letter to the SEC, Senator Carl Levin said that smaller companies should not be exempted from the Commission?s proposed regulations implementing Dodd-Frank provisions requiring the disclosure of payments to governments related to the commercial development of oil or natural gas...

Big Four Firm Opposes Audit of Exhibit Disclosing Payments Related to Oil and Gas Extraction

Posted on February 26, 2011
The costs of an outside audit of a proposed Exhibit to a company?s annual report disclosing payments to governments related to the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals would outweigh the benefits, in the view of Ernst & Young. In a letter commenting on the SEC?s proposal to implement this disclosure requirement of the Dodd-Frank Act, E&Y said that significant effort would be required to audit the Exhibit, regardless of whether the information is disclosed on a cash or accrual basis since auditors would not be able to rely on the procedures performed in auditing the financial statement...

Large Audit Firms Seek Clarification of PCAOB?s Proposed Temporary Inspection Program for Auditors of Brokers

Posted on February 26, 2011
Large audit firms generally support the PCAOB?s proposal to establish an interim inspection program related to audits of brokers and dealers and believe that the temporary program will allow the Board to achieve its objective of informing the permanent inspection program...

District of Columbia Sets Time-Table for IAs Filing New Part 2 of Form ADV

Posted on February 25, 2011
Investment adviser applicants and registrants that follow SEC instructions for completing and filing new Part 2 of Form ADV will be in compliance with District of Columbia requirements. Applicants beginning January 1, 2011 must file through the IARD a new Part 2 with their application, and applicants with a pending application for an IA license, as well as licensed investment advisers beginning January 1, 2011 need to include new Part 2 in their next filing of an amendment or annual updating amendment to Form ADV, whichever filing occurs first...

In Letter to Fed, Senate Banking Committee Democrats Question Dodd-Frank Interchange Fee Provisions

Posted on February 25, 2011
In a letter to the Fed, Senators Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) expressed concern that proposed regulations implementing the interchange fee provisions of Section 1075 of the Dodd-Frank Act might prevent small issuers from benefitting from the exemption set forth in the Act...

Broker-dealer Registration Applications only Considered "Filed" When Automatic Registration of Agents is Complete

Posted on February 24, 2011
Broker-dealer registration applications are not considered "filed" in Massachusetts until the broker-dealer applicants have, in addition to complying with other conditions, either: (1) automatically registered any agent who is a partner, officer or director, or a person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions; or (2) waived automatic registration for any person not seeking automatic registration by submitting a duly executed affidavit in a form approved by the Securities Division...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

When Government Inversely Condemns Property by Regulation, Magnitude of State Interest Has No Bearing Upon Just Compensation
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently decided a case in which a p...

World-renowned Dermatologist Warns Public of Botox Dangers
Beverly Hills, CA: Dr. Arnold Klein, a world-renowned dermatologis...