Global Financial Market Watch : Global Financial Lawyer & Attorney : K&L Gates Law Firm : Government Enforcement, Investment Management

By: Philip J. Morgan and Neil Nick Robson

On 22 June 2010, the UK's new Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered the new Government's “emergency” budget. Amongst a package of other measures, he announced a bank levy from 1 January 2011, and plans to carry out further work to tackle unacceptable bank bonuses, including a consideration of the costs and benefits of a “Financial Activities Tax” on bank profits and remuneration.

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By: Philip J. Morgan and Nicholas Brown

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne yesterday announced the scrapping of the Financial Services Authority as part of a major shake-up of the regulation of financial services in the UK.

The FSA will be replaced by three new entities:

• a prudential regulator, which will be a subsidiary of the Bank of England, and will be responsible for oversight of UK-based retail lenders, investment banks, building societies and insurers, and regulation of capital requirements of financial institutions;

• a Consumer Protection and Markets Authority, responsible for the protection of consumers and day-to-day policing of financial firms; and
   
• a financial crime agency, incorporating the current financial crime powers of the FSA, the Serious Fraud Office and the Office of Fair Trading.
   

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By: Lawrence B. Patent

On June 8, 2010, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight (“DCIO”) issued an Advisory regarding the extent to which certain sophisticated customers located in the United States may transact in foreign security futures products (“FSFP”). The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an Order on this subject about a year ago, on June 30, 2009, as described in a previous K&L Gates Alert.

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By: Edward G. Eisert, Mark D. Perlow, Megan B. Munafo

On Thursday, May 20, 2010, the Senate voted 59-39 to adopt the financial services bill now known as H.R. 4173, the “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010” (the “Senate Bill”).   The Senate Bill is based on the draft Chairman’s Mark released by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) on March 15, 2010, as amended by a package of technical amendments.  A bipartisan Congressional conference committee has now been constituted  to resolve the differences between the Senate Bill and the House bill, which has the same bill number, but is entitled “The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009,” passed by the House on December 12, 2009 (the “House Bill”).  The Democratic Congressional leadership anticipates that these differences can be resolved and a final bill presented to the President for enactment into law by early July.

To view the complete alert online, click here.

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On May 20, 2010, the Senate passed the “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010” as amended (“Senate Bill”). Congressional leadership has indicated that conference committee proceedings will take place in June, making it likely that the legislation will be passed by the House and Senate before the July 4th Recess and signed into law by the President shortly thereafter.

To view the complete alert online, click here.

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