Finance Law and Banking Law

Collateralized Fund Obligations (CFOs) have evolved from a niche structured finance product into a rapidly growing capital markets instrument, with annual issuance projected to reach $30 billion in 2026. This comprehensive analysis examines the structural mechanics, regulatory framework, and emerging trends driving CFO adoption among asset managers and institutional investors seeking rated exposure to diversified private fund portfolios.

The CFTC has adopted significant amendments to its margin requirements for uncleared swaps, fundamentally changing how seeded funds are treated and expanding eligible collateral options. These changes eliminate longstanding barriers that forced fund sponsors to structure vehicles offshore and restricted the use of money market fund shares as collateral. The Final Rule brings U.S. regulations into closer alignment with international standards while addressing practical challenges faced by market participants

The U.S. and UK have released groundbreaking recommendations for cross-border digital asset cooperation, while major financial institutions successfully execute tokenized asset trades in production environments. Meanwhile, regulatory bodies worldwide advance frameworks for digital currencies and on-chain derivatives markets, signaling a coordinated push toward mainstream adoption of blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

General partners executing continuation vehicle transactions in 2026 navigate a complex landscape shaped by regulatory uncertainty following the Fifth Circuit's vacatur of the Private Fund Advisers Rule, ILPA's increasingly prescriptive governance framework, and emerging private litigation risk. How can GPs build defensible process architecture that balances fiduciary obligations, institutional investor expectations, and commercial realities while minimizing post-closing exposure?

Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take delivers a comprehensive monthly roundup of critical regulatory developments, enforcement actions, and policy shifts affecting financial markets and funds. From SEC proposals on electronic delivery to FINRA's enforcement program overhaul and the UK's landmark cryptoasset regulatory regime, this edition examines the evolving landscape shaping broker-dealers, investment managers, and market participants. The newsletter also features insights on prediction market

Collateralized Fund Obligations (CFOs) have evolved from a niche structured finance product into a rapidly growing capital markets instrument, with annual issuance projected to reach $30 billion in 2026. This comprehensive analysis examines the structural mechanics, regulatory framework, and emerging trends driving CFO adoption among asset managers and institutional investors seeking rated exposure to diversified private fund portfolios.

Federal banking regulators have jointly proposed sweeping reforms to U.S. capital requirements, formally rescinding the controversial 2023 Basel III Endgame Framework in favor of a modernized approach that would reduce capital burdens...

The NAIC's Spring National Meeting addressed critical changes to risk-based capital factors for life insurers' collateral loans, with industry stakeholders debating the appropriate methodology for calculating RBC factors based on loan-to-value ratios and overcollateralization levels.

Federal banking agencies have issued revised model risk management guidance in SR 26-2, introducing a more explicitly risk-based approach to model governance, validation, and monitoring. While primarily targeting organizations with over $30 billion in assets, the principles-based framework has broader implications for regional and community banks navigating evolving regulatory expectations.

As commercial air travel surges past pre-pandemic levels with 1.1 billion passengers in FY2024, US airports face unprecedented demand for modernization. Major transformations at LaGuardia, JFK, and LAX demonstrate how public-private partnerships are delivering multi-billion dollar terminal redevelopments, automated transit systems, and consolidated facilities. With Washington Dulles seeking complete terminal replacement and new airports like Chicago's South Suburban project in procurement, the private secto

Under SEC-Chairman Paul Atkins, the Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a new set of rules that would permit electronic delivery as the default method of delivery for all required disclosures under the federal securities laws. [1] If adopted, this would mark a foundational and very welcome shift in how registered investment advisers, investment companies, business development companies, broker-dealers, transfer agents, and other regulated entities may deliver required disclosures to investors, clients, and other market participants.

As global demand for critical minerals accelerates, the midstream – the processing and refining of raw materials into usable industrial inputs – is increasingly viewed as a strategically important section of the metals value chain and key to industrial sovereignty. However, despite the strong demand narrative, midstream projects in the UK and Europe face significant challenges.