United States: Finance and Banking

When banks receive subpoenas or discovery requests seeking Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) or related information, they face a critical but often overlooked compliance obligation. Beyond simply refusing to disclose the confidential reports, financial institutions must also notify federal regulatory agencies about the request itself and their response to it.

The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance has issued a new exemptive order allowing qualifying tender or exchange offers for non-convertible debt securities to remain open for just five business days instead of the standard 20-day period. This order supersedes previous relief from 2015 and expands the conditions under which issuers can utilize abbreviated offering periods. The relief aims to address market inefficiencies and reduce exposure to interest rate fluctuations while maintaining investor protection

Federal regulators are seeking to modernize derivatives trading frameworks while Kentucky challenges the CFTC's authority over prediction markets. The CFTC and SEC have issued multiple requests for public comment on portfolio margining harmonization and derivatives product definitions, while the House debates whether fintech firms should gain access to Federal Reserve payment systems.