As we “go to press” with this week’s issue, we are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Our thoughts are with the Royal Family at their time of personal grief, and we share our condolences with our readers in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world. We recognize and admire her lifetime of service to her country.

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We couldn’t help but notice this week that the post-summer traffic is back, along with packed commuter trains and buses and increased rush-hour foot traffic just about everywhere. And the hot summer has made way for some cool fall breezes.

As we’ve been saying for weeks, though, the financial services industry and the regulatory agencies never really took a summer vacation, and this week we look at the first policy speech from Federal Reserve Vice Chair of Supervision Michael Barr and guidance from the FTC and the FDIC. Our Financial Restructuring colleague Casey Servais also provides an in-depth look at Fairfield Sentry Ltd. v. Citibank, N.A. London, a case coming out of the Madoff Ponzi scheme, in which the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed that the U.S. Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbor provisions protect against foreign law “clawback” claims in cases under Chapter 15.   

Busy times mean lots of questions. And we’re here to help. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with general questions or with comments on this week’s issue of Cabinet News and Views. You can write to us here.

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

By Daniel Meade

Partner | Financial Regulation

Federal Reserve Vice Chair of Supervision Michael Barr gave remarks yesterday to the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. The speech was his first since being sworn in at the end of July and served as a good indicator of his policy agenda.   

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By Mercedes Kelley Tunstall

Partner | Financial Regulation

The federal banking regulators have guidance in place regarding the advertising of credit pre-approvals, and, of course, Regulation Z and the Truth In Lending Act have provisions regarding how and when a pre-approval can be communicated to customers. Here is a look at a recent Federal Trade Commission action in this area. 

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By Mercedes Kelley Tunstall

Partner | Financial Regulation

In many corners of financial services, Environmental, Social and Governance concerns are driving innovation, SEC disclosure requirements, and even risk and compliance assessments. However, first among the prudential banking regulators, the FDIC on September 2 released a consumer advisory on ESG considerations, specifically regarding the impact of “Banking on the Environment.”

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By Casey Servais

Partner | Financial Restructuring

The U.S. Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbor provisions provide comfort to financial institutions that transfers made under protected financial contracts will generally not be subject to avoidance or “clawback” if the transferor subsequently files for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. But is the same true where the transferor is a foreign debtor whose main insolvency proceeding is occurring outside the United States, and whose representatives merely petition for “recognition” of the foreign proceeding in the United States under Chapter 15 of the Code?

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We are pleased to welcome partner Mike Rupe to our Financial Restructuring Group in New York. He joins as Head of Special Situations and Reorganizations.

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