SPECIAL REPORT: Retail Bank Firms, Fearing a Buzzsaw, Eye New Compliance Tests for Fairness

Retail financial services firms are facing hundreds of new regulations under a newly minted financial reform law, but the real compliance test for a specific product or service may boil down to just one question: Is it fair?

U.S., Switzerland Say Deadline for Processing UBS Accounts Met, Handover Not Yet Done

GENEVA—Both the U.S. and Swiss governments said Aug. 26 that Switzerland has met its obligations under a landmark August 2009 agreement with the United States to review some 4,450 secret accounts held by U.S. taxpayers with Swiss banking giant UBS, but Swiss officials admitted…

IRS Unveils Comprehensive Guidance on Foreign Bank Reporting, Disclosure

The Internal Revenue Service Aug. 27 unveiled eagerly awaited guidance on the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which imposed a host of new requirements…

BNA INSIGHTS: Unnecessary Burdens and Costs Raise Concerns for SEC’s Large Trader Reporting System

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”) has proposed a new rule that would establish a system for registered broker-dealers to electronically report on a confidential basis the trading activity in national market system (“NMS”) securities of large market participants upon request from the Commission.

BNA INSIGHTS: Financial Industry Reform: New Registration, Recordkeeping, and Reporting Requirements for Private Fund Managers

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) will fundamentally change many aspects of financial industry regulation in the United States.

CFTC, Japanese Counterparts Sign Agreement for Cooperation in Investigations Involving Commodity Futures

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has signed a “statement of intent” with fellow regulators in Japan to establish a framework for information sharing and cooperation in cross-border investigations of potential violations of commodity futures laws.

Bankruptcy Court Enlists U.K. Help to Force Production of Madoff Records

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York Aug. 17 asked a British court to order HSBC Holdings plc and HSBC Bank plc, two U.K. financial institutions, to produce records of administrative, custodial, and other services they provided to feeder funds with accounts at Bernard Madoff’s broker-dealer