August 2020

In the fourth installment of our new LIBORcast program, Matthew Hays and Jonathan Gaynor discussed interest rate caps, derivatives and value transfer with Chatham Financial’s Rob Mangrelli and Matt Hoffman.  Tune in to hear about the cost of a SOFR interest rate cap, adoption of the ISDA protocol and rate fragmentation in the post-LIBOR market.…

After much anticipation and expectation, on June 25, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board, CFTC, FDIC, OCC, and SEC (the “agencies”) finalized an amendment to Section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act, commonly known as the Volcker Rule, which among other things prohibits banking entities from sponsoring or acquiring ownership interests in “covered funds.”  Covered funds are entities that would be investment companies but for exemptions provided under Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act, and generally include private equity funds and hedge funds.  The final rule, which goes into effect on October 1, mostly follows what the agencies had signaled to everyone back in the mask and quarantine-free days of January when it released proposed changes that are largely adopted in the final rule.
Continue Reading Volcker Rule Amendment: Trending Towards Flexibility

Regulators have been increasing their scrutiny of LIBOR transition efforts as they ramp up messaging stressing that the time to act is now.   The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert to introduce a LIBOR Examination Initiative on the upcoming discontinuation of, and transition…