Banking

Expert Analysis

• International Cartel Stats: A Look At The Last 26 Years

  

  John M. Connor, professor emeritus at Purdue University and senior fellow of the American Antitrust Institute, compiled information on 1,336 private international cartels investigated since 1990. In this article, he presents aggregate statistics on numbers, affected sales, damages, corporate penalties, individual fines and incarceration, and highlights broad geographic differences.

• Brexit Achieves The Opposite Of Intended Effect In Banking

  

  Contrary to the sentiments that drove more than 15 million U.K. citizens to vote to leave the European Union, the banking industry has asked to preserve the existing EU regulatory framework. It appears that the U.K. banking sector will bear all of the costs associated with Brexit while missing out on the gains that fervent campaigners promised, says Brandon Daniels, president of the Clutch Group.

• Why The Government's Wall Of Secrecy Must Fall

  

  In recent years, investors in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have challenged the federal government in court, following the government's decision to hide thousands of documents in the name of executive privilege. This case has critical implications for the transparency and accountability of the government's actions, says Saikrishna Prakash, the James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia Law School.

• Crackdown On Money Laundering In Real Estate Is Expanding

  

  Some in the real estate industry were skeptical about whether the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's geographic targeting orders focused on Manhattan and Miami-Dade would be effective in curbing money laundering. It appears, however, that FinCEN’s early efforts have produced valuable leads for law enforcement, says Matthew Lee of Fox Rothschild LLP.

• DOL Fiduciary Rule: Real-World Applications And Effects

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Labor finalized its new regulation concerning fiduciaries and conflicts of interest under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code. Seth Safra of Proskauer Rose LLP explores the objectives and implications of the new fiduciary rule and best interest contract exemption, as well as some key practical applications.

• What Have Merchants Gained From Payment Card Litigation?

  

  Antitrust enforcers and businesses have been waging a slow war against payment card fees, slowly chipping away at the effect of those fees on businesses' bottom lines. But that progress recently took a major step backward when the Second Circuit threw out a watershed settlement between the payment card industry and merchants, say attorneys with Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC.

• Writing Arbitration Clauses To Get The Arbitration You Want

  

  Agreeing to arbitration clauses can be complicated because you may risk locking in a factually incorrect judgment. Merril Hirsh and Nicholas Schuchert of Troutman Sanders LLP explain the mechanics of the Federal Arbitration Act and how to ensure you find the right arbitration laws for your case.

• FINRA Is Wrongfully Imposing Rule 2010 Sanctions

  

  In nearly every letter of acceptance, waiver and consent involving a registered representative, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s attorneys cite violations of FINRA Rule 2010. The rule has become a FINRA violation catchall and its inclusion in so many AWCs is questionable, says Max Schatzow of Stark & Stark.

• Spotlight On 'Shadow Banking'

  

  A recent speech by Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo indicates that the Fed — and Tarullo in particular — continues to believe that the post-financial crisis regulatory reform efforts must include “shadow banking” entities and runnable funding. Further, the Federal Reserve is considering wide-ranging, and perhaps unorthodox, approaches to the regulation of runnable funding, say attorneys with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

• Bitcoin Trading Isn't Money Laundering, But For How Long?

  

  The IRS’ use of the term “virtual currency” with respect to bitcoin and similar tools, along with Florida law’s omission of the term, appears to have been influential, and even dispositive, in a Florida trial court’s recent conclusion that bitcoin trading isn’t money laundering. But the decision is based on a specific statutory interpretation, and one that won’t last long, says John Londot of Greenberg Traurig LLP.