Cabinet News & Views

The summer is for trips to the beach, hikes in the mountains and maybe even strolls through a vineyard.

Not so fast. The regulatory and enforcement agencies don't seem to be taking any summer vacation this year, as indicated by a series of important developments that have been in the news.

This week's Cabinet News and Views takes a look at a number of those news items from U.S. and UK agencies, with some perspectives from our authors. We think their write-ups comprise the mandatory "Summer Reading List" assignment.

As always, please let us know what you think.

Daniel Meade and Michael Sholem
Co-Editors, Cabinet News and Views

Lessons Learned from Recent OFAC Enforcement Actions

By James A. Treanor

Special Counsel | White Collar Defense and Investigations

By Christian Larson

Associate | White Collar Defense and Investigations

Two recent OFAC enforcement actions highlight real-world challenges that financial institutions and other companies may face in their efforts to implement an effective sanctions compliance program.

By Peter Y. Malyshev

Partner | Financial Regulation

On July 14, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a consent order in CFTC v. McAffee and Watson for violations of the CEA and CFTC regulations. This case is significant as one of very few cases where the CFTC was successfully able to assert its enforcement jurisdiction over commodity transactions, as opposed to its traditional jurisdiction over commodity derivatives.

By Kendra Wharton

Associate | White Collar Defense and Investigations

On July 21, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced parallel civil and criminal actions against a former product manager at Coinbase Global, Inc., the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, as well as his brother and his friend, for an alleged scheme to trade ahead of announcements that certain crypto assets would be “listed” on the exchange. Notably, the civil case filed by the SEC is its first enforcement action for insider trading of a “crypto asset security.”

By Mercedes Kelley Tunstall

Partner | Financial Regulation

In an opinion written by U.S. District of Delaware circuit judge Stephanos Bibas that begins, “A good template serves as a guide, not gospel,” Del-One Federal Credit Union was denied the safe harbor typically proffered by use of model forms in a potential class action regarding its overdraft fees.

By Daniel Meade

Partner | Financial Regulation

On July 25, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced amendments to its Enforcement Actions Manual. The amendments to chapters 1 and 4 update and clarify the FDIC’s approach to terminating cease-and-desist orders and consent orders issued under section 8(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

By Michael Sholem

Partner | Financial Services

On July 21, the UK Treasury and the City of London Corporation published a report on their first annual review of the UK financial services sector. The Report sets out findings from a review of the attractiveness and international competitiveness of the UK financial services sector.

CFPB Monitors Deposit Fees Closely

By Mercedes Kelley Tunstall

Partner | Financial Regulation

In a lengthy, numbers-heavy blog post, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau showed off its math skills by analyzing fees that banks collect from their retail deposit customers, with a particular focus on overdraft fee trends.