RegAlytics Weekly Alerts – 7.6.2022
RegAlytics Weekly Alerts – 7.6.2022
With your update on this week’s 7,254 regulatory alerts.
SCOTUS: WV v. EPA
The Regulator of the Supreme Court of the United States, which, uh -- raised eyebrows – with a few rulings.?From siding with pro-life parties as well as scaling back powers of the EPA, we had an explosion of responses from Governors and agencies from practically every state with a statement of support or opposition
Statement by Jim Justice, Governor of West Virigina: U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Major Climate Case
SEC: EY $100M for CPA Exam Cheating!
Which is highly related to our topic of the week: enforcement.
Some enforcement is fun because it's scandalous, like the $100 million fine graciously given to our friends at Earnst & Young for a massive CPA exam cheating scandal that the SEC was not pleased to see. At all.
PCAOB: Auditing the Auditors
The PCAOB – Public Company Account Oversight Board also put out a rule change in relation to auditing the auditors.
SEC: Two Bitcoin ETFs Denied
Some enforcement is cutting edge like the SECs disapproval of two applications for bitcoin ETFs this week. ?They are slowly but surely shaping the rules and regulations around these new areas as the novel concepts work their way through the regulatory process.
CFTC: Interactive Brokers $1M Supervision Fails
Some is traditional, like the $1M CFTC fine for Interactive Brokers because they were mischarging customers by a slight amount that added up and needed to be corrected.
DOJ: Blocked Booze Allen Acquisition
Or the Justice Department blocking Booz Allen Hamilton's proposed acquisition of Everwatch because it would have a total monopoly on a special NSA defense contract.
领英推荐
FTC: Walmart is a Financial Institution!
But then there’s enforcement that comes out like a bull horn, announcing to other regulators, “Hey – there is a problem here” which is the case with Walmart, who is in deep water with the FTC for looking away in relation to money transfer services. Walmart acts as an agent for multiple money transfer services without taking responsibility to the egregious amount fraud happening there and the FTC observed in its complaint that, in addition to its retail business, Walmart runs a thriving operation as a financial services provider. Oh CFPB! Got any thoughts on that?
SEC: CCO Banned from Compliance
And then there’s enforcement that’s personal. This week the SEC went after a guy who served as a chief compliance officer and either “known or should have known” that the firm’s reps were supposed to be disclosing outside business activities but whoopsies didn’t have a process for that. The fine is only $15K – certainly an unpleasant amount for an ordinary person with a job – but he is now banned for 5 years from being a compliance officer for a financial institution. Hester Pierce had some words about this because you don’t want to scare high-quality people away from the task of compliance plus you don’t want companies to believe they can just scapegoat the compliance officer, but in this one case, she thought it was the right thing to do.
CFPB: Rescinds Sandbox Treatment for another FinTech
Then there’s enforcement where the party is actually asking the regulator to do it, as in the case of the CFPB rescinding special regulatory treatment for another fintech in their sandbox.?The fintech wanted to change its pricing strategies and asked to be regulated like the “big boys” so it could do so.
Fed: Pushing for FinTech Investigation
Speaking of FinTechs, Pat Toomey is still sniffing at the Fed trying to understand how a well-connected fintech was granted access to its systems, mostly because he doesn’t like that one of the executives at the fintech was nominated for a role at the Fed.
NY AG: Going after the NY PD
Then there is enforcement where regulators go after regulators, as in the case of the Justice Department’s investigation of the NY City Police Department’s Special Victim’s Unit for its inconsistent treatment of sexual assault victims.
ID: Debt Collectors May Now Contact Consumers by E-mail, Text, and Social Media
Then there’s reluctant compliance, like that of Idaho which competes with South Dakota to be the least regulated state. Idaho had to follow a new CFPB rule, which means they had to unearth a 40-year-old law on their books and fix it. So now you can’t escape to Idaho because debt collectors can hunt you down via social media apps, text, and other non-traditional channels.
SD: Critical Race Theory Banned
Then there’s just plain regulatory hypocrisy. Idaho’s regulating-hating cousin, South Dakota, is celebrating the enaction of their Critical Race Theory ban on education.
CA: Equal Protection
But in the same week, California proposed a new rule that expands equal protection rights under the law including all reproductive statuses and this applies to every human and company operating in California.
CA: Equal Protection
NJ: Loan Redemption for Behavior Healthcare Provider
So if that polarized state of our country depresses you, and you happen to live in NJ, take comfort in a new bill NJ is introducing that helps behavioral therapists in mental health pay back their loans.?This way you can be counseled through the stress.
Basel: Prudential Treatment of Crypto
Last few. If you’re into crypto, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a second public consultation on the prudential treatment of banks' cryptoasset exposures.
Malaysia Central Bank: Climate Risk Stress Testing
The Central Bank of Malaysia proposed a framework for the industry-wide climate risk stress testing (CRST) exercise due in 2024.
White House: Health Care Green House Gas Reduction
The White House announced this week that 61 of the largest U.S. hospital and health sector companies have signed on to the Health Sector Climate Pledge, committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030.
IL: E-Vehicle Rebates
And finally, if you are in Illinois, the Illinois EPA has announced the opening of the electric vehicle rebate program!
You Need a Plan For Regulatory Change!
And that’s it this week for RegAlytics. We have the most comprehensive, coherent, and customizable regulatory alerts tool in the world. Come and see how company after company is transforming their compliance with this kind of transparency. See you next Wednesday!