As the old saying goes, the best deals are made when neither side gets exactly what it wants. By that standard, the most recent federal pandemic relief bill that finally passed into law in late December certainly...
Archive - December 2020
A Farewell to Paul Sarbanes
Almost four years ago, I wrote a blog, “A Farewell to Michael Oxley,” paying tribute to the former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives who died on January 1, 2016. Today, it is fitting that we issue...
SolarWinds Vulnerability Update – Indicators of Compromise and Recommended Actions
The news of the cyber attacks being experienced by government agencies and an expanding list of organizations continues to grow and change on almost an hourly basis. This is proving to be potentially one of the most...
FinCEN and OFAC Put Financial Institutions on Notice About Processing Ransomware Payments
The U.S. government has officially put financial institutions on notice: It is watching and may impose anti-money laundering (AML) sanctions on payment facilitators if they violate federal laws on engaging in...
CFPB Provides Further Guidance on MSAs Under RESPA Section 8
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a compliance aid in October 2020 to provide regulated entities greater clarity around the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and certain provisions of...
Recharging Your Agile Transformation
The seismic shift in project management functions from administrative to a consultative business partner is helping organizations transform across the enterprise and all areas of the project life cycle. In many...
Australia’s Responsible Lending Reforms: A Step in The Wrong Direction
Australia’s lending standards and responsible lending practices have been prominent topics amongst banks and regulators in recent years, with potentially broad implications for both lenders and borrowers. Based on the...
CISA Issues Emergency Directive to Mitigate SolarWinds Orion Code Compromise
On December 13, 2020, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an emergency directive detailing required action for federal agencies to mitigate the threat of the recently discovered...
Regulators Increase Focus on Virtual Currencies as Institutional Interest Grows
Federal regulators have started issuing more guidance to financial institutions on offering new and innovative financial products and services, such as cryptocurrencies, to customers in a safe and sound manner. The...
SEC Adopts Final Rule to Modernize MD&A and Related Financial Disclosures
As part of a broader effort to modernize, simplify and enhance securities regulation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted several changes to Regulation S-K, Management’s Discussion and...