CONTENTS
SEC LEADERSHIP CHANGES
- Daniel S. Kahl appointed Acting Director of the Division of Examinations; Peter B. Driscoll to depart agency
- SEC appoints New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal as Director of Enforcement
- SEC Chair Gary Gensler announces composition of policy team
REGULATORY INITIATIVES
- NYSE Fee Schedule Oversight and Gifted Share Petitions
- FINRA Regulatory Notices on digital assets, the margin rule regarding minimum equity, effective methods to educate newer investors, and best execution and payment for order flow
CRYPTOCURRENCY
- SEC order to review listing and trading Bitcoin Trust on CboeBZX Exchange, Inc.
- SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement Action
ESG
- SEC Chair Gary Gensler gives address at London City Week
- July Asset Management Advisory Committee meeting
- European Commission delays application date for SFDR disclosure rules
SEC LEADERSHIP CHANGES
SEC appoints New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal as Director of Enforcement
Grewal currently serves as Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, a role he has held since January 2018.
Daniel S. Kahl appointed Acting Director of the Division of Examinations; Peter B. Driscoll to depart agency
Peter B. Driscoll, the Director of the Division of Examinations, will depart the agency effective Aug. 14. Daniel Kahl, the Division's Deputy Director, will be named Acting Director upon Mr. Driscoll's departure.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler announces composition of policy team
On July 16 the SEC announced the appointments of Corey Klemmer, Adam Large, Mika Morse, Sirimal Mukerjee, and Sai Rao to Chair Gary Gensler's policy staff, led by the Policy Director Heather Slavkin Corzo.
REGULATORY INITIATIVES
NYSE Fee Schedule Oversight – extended to August 18, 2021
The SEC Commission extended their review of the NYSE petition to shift oversight of the regulated proxy and interim fee schedule to FINRA. This was done to further review the proposed change, the issues raised in comment letters and the NYSE’s response.
NYSE Gifted Shares Proposal – extended to August 15, 2021
The SEC Commission extended their review of the NYSE petition to prohibit certain brokers from seeking reimbursement, in certain circumstances (e.g., gifted shares), from issuers for forwarding proxy and other materials to beneficial owners. This was done to further review the proposed change, the issues raised in comment letters and the NYSE’s response.
Recent FINRA Notices
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On July 8, FINRA published Regulatory Notice 21-25, “FINRA Continues to Encourage Firms to Notify FINRA if They Engage in Activities Related to Digital Assets”
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On July 2, FINRA published RN 21-24, “FINRA Announces Updates to the Interpretations of FINRA’s Margin Rule Regarding Minimum Equity”
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On July 2 FINRA published Special Notice – 6/30/21: “Requests Comment on Effective Methods to Educate Newer Investors”
Comment period expires on August 30, 2021.
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On June 23, FINRA published RN-21-23, “FINRA Reminds Member Firms of Requirements Concerning Best Execution and Payment for Order Flow”
CRYPTOCURRENCY
SEC order to review listing and trading Bitcoin Trust on CboeBZX Exchange, Inc.
On June 16 the SEC published an order instituting proceedings to determine the approval or disapproval of a proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the VanEck Bitcoin Trust on the CboeBZX Exchange, Inc. In the order, the SEC requested comments, including whether the trust and shares would be susceptible to manipulation and whether the risks of manipulation have been mitigated sufficiently.
Read the order in its entirety.
SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement Action
On July 14 the SEC announced a settlement with UK-based Blotics LTs, the operator of Coinschedule.com, for failing to disclose payments from issuers of the digital asset securities it profiled.
Read the press release and order.
Read the public statement of Commissioners Hester M. Peirce and Elad L. Roisman.
ESG
SEC Chair Gary Gensler gives address at London City Week
On June 23 SEC Chair Gary Gensler gave a speech at London City Week covering ESG and public company disclosures, LIBOR, markets and payment for order flow.
Read the Chair’s speech in its entirety.
July Asset Management Advisory Committee (AMAC)
The Asset Management Advisory Committee met on July 7. The meeting included a discussion of matters in the asset management industry relating to:
- The ESG, Diversity & Inclusion, and Private Investments subcommittees, including potential recommendations from those subcommittees.
- The Evolution of Advice subcommittee, including a panel discussion.
Read the press release including the agenda.
Read SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s remarks.
Read Commissioner Hester M. Peirce’s remarks.
European Commission delays application date for SFDR disclosure rules
The European Commission will defer by six months the application date of detailed rules for requirements under the sustainable finance disclosure regulation (SFDR), according to a letter from John Berrigan, director general for the Commission’s financial services division.
- The letter informed the European Parliament and Council that the Commission had not been able to hit the deadline for adopting draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) submitted by the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) in February “given their length and technical detail, which requires additional time in the adoption process."
- The ESAs are still working on the detailed rules for taxonomy-related disclosure requirements, which are supposed to amend the SFDR RTS from February.