United States: Finance and Banking

The federal banking agencies have proposed new third-party risk management guidance that is more prescriptive than its emphasis on a “risk-based” approach might suggest. In addition to calling for risk-based oversight, the proposal identifies specific elements that banks should address in board-approved policies and throughout the life cycle of third-party relationships, including due diligence, contracting, ongoing monitoring, documentation, remediation, and termination.

In the world of banking regulation, corporate structure matters. One of the most significant structural designations a banking organization can achieve is that of a financial holding company (FHC). This post explains what an FHC is, how it differs from a standard bank holding company (BHC), and how a BHC elects to become one.

Banks face significant restrictions on how they market and price products under anti-tying provisions, but the combined-balance discount exception offers a strategic pathway for relationship-based pricing. Understanding which products qualify and how to properly aggregate household balances can unlock meaningful flexibility while maintaining regulatory compliance.

As AI infrastructure spending surges toward $697 billion in 2026, hyperscalers and compute providers are increasingly turning to debt, structured financing, and GPU-backed collateral to fund expansion. While demand projections remain bullish, a critical timing gap is emerging between capital deployment and cash flow generation, creating significant risks for lenders, sponsors, and operators across the ecosystem.

The 2025 restructuring of the Ardagh Group S.A. (Ardagh or the company) capital structure unleashed one of the most controversial—and ultimately consequential—“Restructuring” credit event determination processes...

On Friday, California Office of Health Care Affordability (“OHCA”) published proposed final regulations that implement a 2026 law that significantly expanded OHCA’s review authority over health care transactions involving private equity (“PE”) groups, hedge funds, and management services organizations (“MSOs”). Stakeholders involved in California health care transactions should re-assess whether their ongoing or contemplated transactions are implicated by these regulations, because newly covered transactions will need to comply with the 90-day advance notice requirement established in the original OHCA regulations.

Asset-based lending against in-transit inventory presents unique legal challenges as lenders navigate UCC Article 7 requirements, negotiable documents of title, and the emerging landscape of electronic bills of lading. This analysis examines how ABL lenders can structure security interests to protect their position when goods are moving through the supply chain, from traditional paper documentation to modern electronic platforms.

On August 10, the Washington DFI entered into a consent order with a mortgage services company resolving allegations that the company performed third-party residential mortgage loan processing...

A federal court decision clarifies critical enforcement rights under UCC Article 9 for lenders in partner and investor loan programs, addressing the 10-day notice safe harbor, commercial reasonableness standards, and timing requirements for collateral disposition notices. The ruling provides essential guidance on foreclosure procedures when limited partnership interests serve as loan collateral.

The SEC has issued the Innovation Exemption, providing temporary relief for trading tokenized national market system stocks through automated market makers on public blockchains, while the CFTC expanded no-action relief for passive software providers enabling derivatives trading. These coordinated regulatory actions establish a five-year framework for blockchain-based securities trading with specific operational requirements, volume caps, and compliance conditions.

Federal banking regulators propose revisions to third-party risk management guidance, expand eligibility for extended examination cycles, and clarify supervisory approaches to core service providers. How will these regulatory changes impact banking organizations' compliance strategies and operational relationships with third-party vendors?

The FAQs are staff views, not binding law. The updated FAQs provide interpretive guidance only. They do not amend the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) or CFTC regulations, create a safe harbor or new exemption, or provide a no-action position.