At the Crossroads of Law, Innovation and Commerce
In a recent address on digital finance in the context of the European Commission’s Digital Finance Outreach, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, shared some of the Commission’s thinking on technological innovation and digital finance.
Read MoreBy Judie Rinearson and Mehreen Ahmed
On June 25, 2020, Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks announced in an American Bankers Association’s podcast that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) is planning to introduce “Payments Charter 1.0”, which would effectively be a “national version of a state money transmission license.”
Read MoreBy: Jeremy McLaughlin and Daniel Cohen
It’s no secret that accessing the New York market is difficult, if not impossible, for some digital asset companies, especially those in their early stages. New York’s Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) is hoping to change that—at least incrementally—with several initiatives it recently announced. Our digital asset team will soon provide a detailed analysis of the initiatives, but in the meantime here is a brief summary:
Read MoreBy Judie Rinearson, John ReVeal and Stan Ragalevsky
The office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on June 3, 2020, focusing on digital banking activities. Typically such ANPRs are a precursor to new federal regulation; following collection of data from the industry and other interested parties, the OCC may propose new regulations by issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking within 6-12 months. Responses to the ANPR are due on August 3, 2020.
Read MoreJohn ReVeal and Judie Rinearson
On May 29, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued a final rule (https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/federal-register/2020/nr-occ-2020-71a.pdf) to clarify that, when a federal or state-chartered savings association transfers a loan portfolio, interest permissible on the loans before the transfer continues to be permissible after the transfer. In this way, the OCC hopes to resolve the uncertainty created by the Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC decision (“Madden”).
Read MoreBy Giovanni Campi and Sofia Karagianni
The digitalization of finance is accelerating during the COVID-19 outbreak. Even before the pandemic, FinTechs and BigTechs had begun to change market dynamics by offering new forms of money and new means of payment. Central banks are also looking into the future of money and payments, and at the potential issuance of digital currencies.
Read MoreBy Giovanni Campi and Sofia Karagianni
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) issued a consultation on a toolkit of measures designed to help ensure firms and regulators are well prepared to tackle cyber incidents. This consultation is part of the work initiated in 2017 following the launch of the FSB report gathering financial sector cybersecurity regulations, guidance and supervisory practices from several jurisdictions. The consultation is expected to lead to the submission of the toolkit to the G20 in October 2020.
Read MoreBy Judie Rinearson, Daniel Knight and Daniel Atkin
With Australia joining the boom in new and innovative Fintechs around the world, our challenger banks, payments businesses and Fintechs have gained global recognition.
While entering into the lucrative U.S market is enticing, it can also be a daunting concept for those without insider knowledge.
K&L Gates’ New York Fintech partner Judie Rinearson, was able to provide us with the information necessary for making the transition, successfully.
Read MoreBy Judie Rinearson and John ReVeal
On December 12, 2019, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPR”) to amend the brokered deposit regulation. While the proposed regulation will not eliminate the restrictions or remove all burdens from those institutions that accept brokered deposits, the NPR indicates that the FDIC has recognized that changes in technology call for changes in regulation. As a result, banks working with innovative prepaid payments companies to provide financial services might get some brokered deposit relief.
Read MoreBy Judith Rinearson and Philip Morgan
On November 18, 2019, Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the UK High Court, announced the launch of a “Legal Statement on Crypto Assets and Smart Contracts,” which he described as a “watershed moment” for English Law. The statement, which can be found here, brings new clarity to the likely status of both smart contracts and cryptocurrencies under English law.
A committee of experts has prepared the statement and, although technically it carries no binding legal authority, it is likely to be regarded as the most authoritative position available until the matters it covers are dealt with specifically by the English courts or by revised legislation.
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