Expert Analysis

• 2nd Circ. EFAA Ruling Shifts Employer Litigation Strategy

  

  In Diaz-Roa v. Hermes Law, the Second Circuit recently held that, under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, employers can't carve out nonharassment claims and send them to arbitration, which has implications for discovery, litigation costs and resolution strategy in EFAA-covered disputes, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

• Uniting BSA, Sanctions Compliance As Treasury Targets Iran

  

  The past 18 months of Treasury Department policies demonstrate expectations that financial institutions not merely obey sanctions against Iran, but also help expose how it moves money, making it essential that banks eliminate silos between their Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance teams for an integrated response, says Jonathan Harrington at Bradley Arant.

• How Bank Lobby's Suit Tests OCC's Crypto Charter Powers

  

  The Independent Community Bankers of America’s recent lawsuit challenging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s ability to charter cryptocurrency companies marks another chapter in the struggle over the appropriate regulatory framework for digital assets, while raising a classic administrative law question at its most basic level, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

• 4 Steps For Cos. Amid Russia Sanctions Law Uncertainty

  

  Russian companies, their U.S. subsidiaries and businesses with Russian commercial relationships should take concrete steps to determine their exposure under ambiguous provisions of legislation that recently expanded the scope of U.S. sanctions, notwithstanding an Oct. 16 executive order waiving most of its restrictions, say attorneys at Wilk Auslander.

• New Calif. Law Ties Finance Contracts To State Licensing

  

  Under a California law taking effect in 2028, commercial financing licensing requirements have been substantially expanded — meaning that fintechs relying on limited regulatory enforcement will face risk from their own borrowers, who could use licensing failures to resist repayment, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

• Opinion

  The SEC Crypto Proposal Rests On A Term No One Can Define

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently proposed Regulation Crypto Assets is its most ambitious attempt to set rules for the crypto industry, but its repeated use of the phrase "essential managerial efforts" means it perpetuates the uncertainty the regime is meant to cure, says Joseph A. Hall at Davis Polk.

• Series

  Being In The Peace Corps Made Me A Better Lawyer

  

  When I served in the Peace Corps, the people of the West African village where I was stationed helped me acclimate to my new surroundings and enabled me to develop problem-solving, teamwork and empathy skills that have bolstered my legal practice far beyond the ability to offer technical advice, says Brian Bewley at McGuireWoods.

• Unpacking FDIC's Modernized Bank Merger Review Rules

  

  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s proposed revisions to its Bank Merger Act review process are a shift from its more skeptical prior posture toward a more structured and transaction-facilitative approach, though some broader uncertainty remains concerning antitrust alignment with the U.S. Department of Justice, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• Dissecting Dodd's, Gensler's Prediction Market Amicus Briefs

  

  Former Sen. Chris Dodd and former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler's recent amicus briefs in support of New Jersey's petition for U.S. Supreme Court review of Kalshi v. Flaherty draw on legislative history to counter the CFTC's claim of federal preemption over the prediction markets, says Trace Schmeltz at Steptoe.

• OCC Plan May Bring Data Sharing Flexibility, Diligence Issues

  

  The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent proposal to overhaul its supervisory information sharing regime for the first time in decades would provide important flexibility to banks, but it could create new issues around confidentiality agreements, disclosure controls and diligence processes, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• 5 Prediction Market Queries For Every League, Athletic Dept.

  

  The NFL's recent amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve a circuit split over regulating prediction markets and operators like Kalshi raises important, enterprisewide governance questions for leagues, teams and athletic departments, and highlights that regulatory oversight and institutional integrity are related but distinct, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

• Planning For D&O Exclusions As Risks Mount For Banks

  

  Banks should scrutinize directors and officers exclusions for artificial intelligence, disclosure and cybersecurity risks during policy renewal negotiations to preserve coverage amid the current uptick in insurer scrutiny and related shareholder litigation, say attorneys at Jones Walker.

• Why The SEC Proposed Rescinding Its 'Pay-To-Play' Rule

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent proposal to nix its pay-to-play rule governing political contributions by investment advisers follows years of industry advocacy and commissioner criticism that it suppresses political speech and affects hiring, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• CFIUS Annual Report Reveals Enforcement Trends

  

  The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' recently published annual report to Congress shows that it is increasingly focused on nonnotified transactions, mandatory filing compliance, critical technologies and postclosing mitigation enforcement across the full life cycle transactions, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

• Roundup

  Fintech Regulator Outlook

  

  As digital asset businesses navigate an unsettled federal regulatory environment, state regulators are developing their own approaches to enforcement and innovation. This Expert Analysis series features regulators' perspectives on the ensuing challenges and offers compliance takeaways for companies.