Global Financial Markets Podcast by Mayer Brown

FinCEN has confirmed that, since December 7, 2024, reporting companies have not been, and will continue to not be, required to file beneficial ownership reports for as long as an injunction of the CTA remains in effect. Please join Mayer Brown partners Matt Bisanz and Gina Parlovecchio to understand what that means and how it may impact your organization.

Last month, the FDIC proposed rules related to FDIC pass-through insurance coverage. These rules could have a significant impact on bank-fintech partnerships, including some partnerships for programs that do not promise FDIC coverage to end customers. This webinar will analyze the proposed rules, and identify ways we think it could impact these partnerships (including some that may not be obvious). We'll also weigh in on how industry leaders can shape the rule during the public comment period.

On July 30, 2024, the FDIC proposed revisions to the restrictions on brokered deposits. The revisions would undo many of the key elements of the 2020 revisions, and would dramatically expand the number of deposit brokers and the amount of deposits that are brokered. Please join Mayer Brown partners Jeffrey Taft and Matt Bisanz to understand what this rollback will mean for banks and deposit intermediaries.

Members of Mayer Brown's Financial Services team summarize the main takeaways of the CFPB's proposal to amend the Regulation X mortgage servicing rules.  We focus on the proposal to amend the requirements for mortgage servicers to assist borrowers in default who seek payment assistance, the proposed amendments to foreclosure safeguards during that process, and the CFPB's proposal regarding providing certain communications in languages other than English.

On July 8, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued interpretive guidance that requires certain legal entities that have been dissolved or otherwise ceased to exist to file beneficial ownership information reports under the Corporate Transparency Act. Please join Mayer Brown partners Adam Kanter and Matt Bisanz to understand what that means and how it may impact your organization.

On March 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a Final Rule that would significantly restrict late fees that consumer credit card issuers may charge to a mere $8—representing approximately a 75% reduction from current levels. Within two days, the Final Rule faced a challenge in the Northern District of Texas by a coalition of trade groups including the United States Chamber of Commerce, the American Bankers Association, and the Consumer Bankers Association. The challenge seeks to invalidate the Final Rule on several constitutional, procedural, and substantive bases, as well as a temporary stay of the rule's enforcement while the suit is litigated. Please join Mayer Brown attorneys Eric Mitzenmacher, Jan Stewart, and Joy Tsai as they discuss the rulemaking, the challenges it faces in litigation, and implications for card issuers and secondary market participants.

The CFPB has launched an aggressive campaign against so-called “junk fees.” This year the CFPB has released proposed rules targeting overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees and a final rule targeting credit card late fees. Along the same lines, two of the three latest editions of the Bureau's Supervisory Highlights were marketed as special editions focused on junk fees. In this episode of our Global Financial Markets Podcast, Frank Doorley and Christa Bieker discuss what you need to know about the CFPB's focus on fees that it asserts are hidden from the competitive process. 

The end of 2023 saw a barrage of major proposals and other actions by US banking regulators. Many of these are contentious issues that have divided regulators and generated significant public controversy. Final proposals of some could be coming in 2024, but only if they can avoid being crowded out by the federal elections in the fall. Please join Mayer Brown partners Jeffrey Taft and Matt Bisanz as they discuss these proposals and how they may impact the banking industry.

Please join Mayer Brown partners Tameem Zainulbhai, Joanna Nicholas, Melissa Kilcoyne, Evan DeCresce and Jim Antonopoulos for a discussion on What to Expect in 2024 in the fields of structured finance and securitization. They will examine some key challenges and opportunities this new year will bring to market participants, and discuss trending issues and topics affecting the structured finance and securitization markets. Topics include the mortgage landscape, CLOs, trends in auto and equipment asset classes, trade receivables, and recent regulatory activity.

The authors of our recent Legal Update provide an overview of the SEC's (Securities and Exchange Commission) recently adopted rule, which prohibits conflicts of interest in certain securitizations as required under the Dodd-Frank Act. Although not perfect, the final rule is a significant improvement over the proposal. However, all securitization participants will need to assess their securitization programs and implement various compliance programs before the final rule becomes effective on June 9, 2025. Please join Mayer Brown lawyers Stuart Litwin, Christopher Horn and Michelle Stasny as they discuss the recently adopted rule.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently proposed an extensive framework of rules to ensure consumer access to certain information at their financial institutions. The rules would require financial institutions to make certain data relating to consumers' transactions and accounts available to consumers and authorized third parties, establish obligations for third parties accessing a consumer's data, and provide basic standards for privacy, security, and data access. Please join Mayer Brown lawyers Matt Bisanz and Kelly Truesdale as they discuss the proposal and what it means for the financial services sector.

With less than 30 days until the Corporate Transparency Act's beneficial ownership reporting requirement takes effect, questions still abound. While only new entities will be subject to reporting requirements at first, thousands of those are formed every day who will need to understand—and apply—these new regulations with limited guidance. Please join Mayer Brown partners Brad Resnikoff and Matt Bisanz as they discuss some of the most pressing issues.

The US federal banking regulators recently finalized major changes to their decades-old Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations, which will have significant consequences for many US banks. Please join Mayer Brown lawyers Kerri Webb, Kris Kully, and Jeffrey Taft as they discuss: How the final regulations differ from the proposal What the final regulations could mean for large and small banks and community development activity Where banks may find opportunities for new businesses and investments under the final regulations

While the recent US Basel Endgame proposal will affect many elements of the capital rules, it will especially impact operational risk, a new category of capital charge for most banks. Midsize and larger US banking organizations will need to develop extensive loss-event tracking and quantification systems to comply with new operational risk requirements. Smaller banking organizations, while not required to hold capital for operational risk, should consider implementing tracking systems, given the 10-year lookback requirement, and its potential applicability in acquisitions. Please join Mayer Brown partners Jeffrey Taft and Matthew Bisanz for a discussion of the proposed operational risk requirements, and the key issues that banking organizations should consider during the comment period.

In late July 2023, US banking agencies proposed significant revisions to the risk-based regulatory capital requirements for certain midsize and larger US banking organizations. These proposals are critical, as the amount of capital a bank must maintain with respect to any particular loan, investment or activity is among the most significant factors in determining whether an activity is profitable, or even feasible. The proposals are not “capital neutral,” and will increase the capital charge for several aspects of the primary and secondary mortgage markets in the United States. Please join Mayer Brown lawyers Haukur Gudmundsson, Christopher Smith, and Matthew Bisanz for an in-depth discussion of the proposed requirements, and what they mean for the mortgage industry.

While the recent US Basel Endgame proposal will affect many elements of the capital rules, it will have a particularly significant effect on market risk, where it may increase the capital requirement by more than 50%. Midsize and larger US banking organizations and others with significant trading activity also will need to develop extensive position identification, modeling, and governance systems to comply with new market risk requirements. Smaller banking organizations, while not required to hold capital for market risk, will at least need to implement revised position identification processes to ensure that they do not become subject to this part of the proposal. Please join Mayer Brown partners Jeffrey Taft and Matthew Bisanz for a discussion of the proposed market risk requirements and key issues banking organizations should consider during the comment period.

In late July 2023, US banking agencies released proposals to significantly revise the risk-based regulatory capital requirements for certain midsize and larger US banking organizations. These proposals would have a critical impact on the banking industry, as the amount of capital a bank must maintain with respect to any particular loan, investment or activity is typically a significant—if not the most significant—factor in determining whether an activity is profitable, or even feasible. The proposals are not “capital neutral,” and may increase the capital charge for several aspects of the commercial real estate finance sector. Please join Mayer Brown partners Eric Reilly, Miller Smith, and Matthew Bisanz for an in-depth discussion of the proposed requirements and what they mean for CRE.

The US federal banking regulators have jointly proposed long-term debt (“LTD”) requirements for certain midsize and larger US banking organizations. The LTD proposal would require many regional and larger banking organizations to issue approximately $70 billion of new LTD over the three-year implementation period. Additionally, affected organizations would need to restructure their top-tier holding company activities to comply with the clean holding company requirements, and conform funding arrangements with most subsidiary depository institutions to implement internal LTD measures. Please join Mayer Brown partners Anna Pinedo, Christopher Chubb, and Matthew Bisanz for a high-level discussion of the proposed requirements and how banking organizations may respond.

Since the CFPB's small business data collection rule became effective earlier this year, small business lenders have been making plans to implement the new and extensive data collection requirements. At the same time, the final rule has been the subject of litigation, with several financial institutions and trade associations suing the CFPB to enjoin the rule's implementation. On July 31, a Texas court granted a preliminary injunction preventing the CFPB from implementing or enforcing the rule against the plaintiffs and their members. Please join Mayer Brown partners Tori Shinohara and Frank Doorley, with special guest Kate Rock of Guidehouse, for an update on the pending litigation, and a discussion of compliance considerations for lenders in the process of developing policies, procedures and processes to comply with the final rule.

The US federal banking regulators have jointly proposed extensive revisions to the regulatory capital requirements for midsize and larger US banking organizations. While these revisions will affect nearly all credit exposures, securitization exposures will be significantly affected by certain policy choices. Securitizations historically have benefited from highly favorable risk weights (albeit under strictly defined circumstances), and the revisions are expected to make this relief more complicated (and potentially more expensive) to obtain. Some of this is driven by corresponding revisions to international capital standards from 2017, but other aspects are driven by long-term skepticism among US regulators and an unwillingness to be seen as granting concessions to the industry. Please join Mayer Brown lawyers Stuart Litwin, Christopher Horn, and Matthew Bisanz for a discussion of how the proposed revisions may impact securitization and structured finance.

In late July 2023, the US banking agencies released proposals to significantly revise the risk-based regulatory capital requirements for certain midsize and larger US banking organizations and change the method for calculating the capital surcharge for global systemically important banking organizations. These proposals are of critical importance because the amount of capital a bank must maintain with respect to any particular loan, investment or activity is typically a significant—if not the most significant—factor in determining whether the relationship is profitable or even feasible. The proposals are not “capital neutral” and would effectively increase the need for capital in a number of important respects. Please join Mayer Brown partners Anna Pinedo and Matt Bisanz as they focus on the implications of the Basel Endgame Proposal on capital and on capital markets related activities.

The primary mortgage market recently has flattened, with rising interest rates and fewer homes on the market. However, these factors, coupled with home price appreciation, have created a space for alternatives to traditional residential mortgage financing. These include single family rental (SFR), rent-to-own and home equity option contracts, i-buying, and home equity lines of credits (HELOCs). Many of these products come with specific consumer regulatory and compliance requirements—plus the familiar residential mortgage regulations, which may apply differently to each product. And with the US primary home market sitting on an unprecedented amount of home equity, we expect that interest in these products will only continue to grow and that financing them will be of immediate and keen interest to market participants. Please join us for the final episode of our three-part podcast series, where Mayer Brown partners Susannah Schmid, Dave Linley and Frank Doorley for a high-level review of these products: what they are, how they are financed in warehouses and securitizations, and what the consumer finance regulatory requirements are for each.

The US federal banking regulators have jointly proposed extensive revisions to the regulatory capital requirements for midsize and larger US banking organizations. The revisions are lengthy and would change the requirements for credit, market, and operational risk. Some of the revisions are long-expected (e.g., re-evaluation of use of internal models), but others are novel (e.g., capital charge for operational risk) or driven in response to the recent banking crisis. Further, the revisions are expected to materially increase the amount of capital that many larger banking organizations must hold, which may lead to a decline in bank lending and bank trading activities.  Mayer Brown partners Matthew Bisanz and Jeffrey Taft have a high-level discussion of the proposed revisions. Future episodes will explore how the revisions may affect securitization, capital markets, and fund finance. 

In recent years, the US mortgage markets have faced mounting pressure from rising interest rates, declining originations, and heightened regulation. In part two of our three-part podcast series on the current state of the US mortgage markets, Mayer Brown experts will discuss the current challenging environment for mortgage origination, as well as recent trends seen in the RMBS and CMBS securitization markets. Listeners can also expect updates on recent improvements to the Ginnie Mae securitization programs, as well as developments we have observed in the MSR market. Please join Mayer Brown partners Krista Cooley, Eric Edwardson, Haukur Gudmundsson and Miller Smith as they discuss these updates and offer their thoughts on what's to come.

In recent years, the US mortgage markets have faced mounting pressure from rising interest rates, declining originations, and heightened regulation, such as EU risk retention requirements. While deals continue to be struck, they are becoming increasingly complex and expensive. We have heard of a number of similar concerns from our clients with structures like warehouse finance facilities, and we have developed some ideas on how to address them through products like credit risk transfer trades. Please join Mayer Brown partners Brian Kuhl, Susannah Schmid, Miller Smith, and Matt Bisanz as they discuss these developments.  

The last few months have seen a steady stream of emergency actions from the US banking regulators, along with legislative proposals from the Hill, that have spurred debate over the necessity of regulatory action. Some of these changes may be foregone conclusions, but others are just the early innings of a vigorous debate. Also key will be the way that accounting rules—and changes to those rules—affect banks and influence the way regulators move forward. Please tune in to hear Mayer Brown public policy and regulatory lawyers discuss what's to come for the banking industry.

Many regional and community banks in the United States are under intense pressure from economic forces beyond their control. This has led to a contraction in the lending markets, and may even shut off the spigot for some asset classes.  Some banks might look to credit risk transfer (“CRT”) trades to keep the lending pipeline open. These cutting-edge transactions keep the loans on a bank's balance sheet, while eliminating risk from the portfolio” and providing substantial capital relief. Further, by shifting risk to non-bank investors, CRTs provide a new opportunity for private equity and others to use the powder that they have accumulated over the last several years.  Please join Mayer Brown partners Stuart Litwin and Matt Bisanz as they discuss why now is the time for regional and community banks to consider CRTs.

The last few years have seen many changes and trends in the world of trade finance—not least because of well-publicized supply-chain disruptions around the globe. These and other factors have spurred changes in traditional products and pushed new structures to the fore. Please join Mayer Brown lawyers Evan DeCresce and Patrick Healy as they discuss some hot topics in trade finance.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) recently waded into unexpected controversy with the release of proposed data fields for the beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) reporting regime that will take effect at the beginning of next year. FinCEN's inclusion of “Unknown” and “Unable to identify” options for several of the proposed data fields has generated concern that incomplete BOI may be less valuable for some users, such as financial institutions. These concerns stand in contrast to the potential impossibilities and practical constraints that reporters of BOI face. Please join Mayer Brown partners Brad Resnikoff and Matt Bisanz as they discuss this controversy and how it may affect the implementation of the BOI reporting regime.

Can online lead generation be done while remaining compliant under Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”)? The answer is yes, but it is important to navigate the impermissible activities recently identified by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). On February 7, 2023, the CFPB issued guidance in an advisory opinion addressing how it interprets RESPA and its implementing regulation, Regulation X, in the context of digital marketing and lead generation platforms for real estate settlement services. This guidance—the first issued by the CFPB on online lead generation—highlights several key compliance considerations for participants engaging in digital marketing of settlement services. Please join Mayer Brown lawyers Holly Bunting and Kerri Webb as they discuss the advisory opinion, how it impacts compliance under RESPA, and the questions raised by the CFPB's interpretations.

Many US businesses with significant non-US investors may be required to file a BE-12 with the Bureau of Economic Analysis (“BEA”) this year as part of a survey that the BEA conducts every five years and most recently in 2018. The BE-12, also known as the Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States, is a collection of financial and operating data that must be filed by certain US businesses—even if they have not been contacted by the BEA. Determining whether a US business must file a BE-12 and completing the form can be a significant burden, particularly if the business has limited compliance resources or is not subject to extensive regulation that requires similar data gathering. Please join US regulatory lawyers Matt Bisanz and Kerri Webb as they talk about what the BE-12 means for US businesses and their non-US investors.

Please join us as the authors of our recent Legal Update provide an overview of the SEC's (Securities and Exchange Commission) recently proposed rule to prohibit conflicts of interest in certain securitizations as required under the Dodd-Frank Act. A re-proposal of a 2011 proposed rule, the re-proposal shares some of the same issues and concerns and may be even worse in some respects. If adopted as re-proposed, the rule's prohibition would have profound consequences for securitization markets.  

Please join Mayer Brown partners Jessie Dougher, Jenna Hartnett, Melissa Kilcoyne and Miller Smith for a discussion of what awaits structured finance this year. They will examine some of the key opportunities and challenges 2023 will bring to market participants and discuss topics such as trends in auto and equipment securitizations, the SEC's recent conflict of interest proposal and other things to watch in the current regulatory landscape, RMBS, CMBS and fintech.  

Algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being deployed in the financial services industry, with massive potential to automate and enhance processes, increase efficiency, improve customer service, and augment investment and lending analyses. However, with those potential benefits come challenges, such as the risk that AI applications may result in unintended bias or “unfair” discrimination against certain sub-groups. Please join Mayer Brown partners Niketa Patel, Tori Shinohara, and Jenn Rosa as they discuss potential risks and the current federal regulation landscape with respect to AI.

Litigation involving artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning presents special risks due to the inherent difficulties of explaining how these tools work. Please Join Mayer Brown lawyers Reg Goeke, Alex Lakatos, and Christopher Leach as they discuss the risks of using AI tools, solutions that can help mitigate those risks, and explainability challenges that arise when litigating cases involving AI tools.

The end of 2022 saw a few noteworthy proposals and other actions by the US banking regulators. Final rulemakings on some proposals may come in 2023 but likely not before we see additional proposals in the first half of the new year. Some are long-awaited, and others are newly inspired, actions of the moment. Please join Mayer Brown partners Jeffrey Taft and Matt Bisanz as they discuss what's happening and how it may impact the banking industry.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) recently introduced a host of initiatives related to statutory accounting, credit quality designation and related regulatory risk-based capital affecting CLOs and other types of structured finance in which US insurance companies invest. Mayer Brown partners Paul Forrester and Larry Hamilton will discuss how these initiatives are affecting insurer investments in ABS now and potentially in the future.

The Fifth Circuit recently ruled that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) funding structure is unconstitutional, casting doubt on all of the agency's actions. But the CFPB is as active as ever. Please join Mayer Brown lawyers Ori Lev, Chris Leach, and Christa Bieker as they discuss the Fifth Circuit's ruling and its implications as well as the agency's recent policy, enforcement, and supervisory activities.  

Private equity (“PE”) investment in US insurers has increased, with a particular emphasis on life insurance groups. In response, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) has taken a renewed interest in how PE investment might impact the safety and stability of the insurers involved. Mayer Brown partners Larry Hamilton and Sanjiv Tata will discuss the reasons behind this renewed regulatory interest and some of the areas that the NAIC has identified for particular scrutiny.

On October 10, 2022, the European Commission published its report on the functioning of the EU Securitization Regulation. The report includes the Commission's legal interpretation of the jurisdictional scope of the Regulation. Mayer Brown partner Neil Hamilton will discuss the Report and its impact on US securitizations offered to European institutional investors.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) recently published its final beneficial ownership information rule (the “BOI Rule”). The BOI Rule will have a significant impact on a number of businesses, including those in the commercial real estate and structured finance sectors. The BOI Rule addresses who will be required to file beneficial owner information with the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) Registry, who will be exempt from filing, what must be filed and when the required reports must be made. Please join Mayer Brown partners Brad Resnikoff and Matt Bisanz to learn more about the BOI Rule and how to prepare to come into compliance with it.

Federal regulators have zeroed in on the auto industry in recent rulemaking, supervisory and enforcement activities. Mayer Brown partners Christopher Leach and Tori Shinohara discuss the FTC and CFPB's focus on the auto industry, including the FTC's proposed auto rule and recent supervisory and enforcement trends.