Corporate Finance

February 21, 2020

Pictured L-R: Attorneys Ben Bruner, Melissa Schilling, John Lande, Ron Mountsier, Amy Plummer, and Brad Kruse. Dickinson Law is pleased to announce its newly-elected Board of Directors. Ron Mountsier was elected as President of the firm, replacing labor and employment attorney Jeff Krausman who served in the role since 2014. Mountsier is engaged in general practice and focuses on taxation, business and corporate law, as well as estate planning and probate matters. Amy Plummer was elected…

Money Laundering Watch

United States “Beats” Switzerland as a Perceived Global Haven for Money Laundering and Tax Evasion

By Peter D. Hardy & Alicia M. Went

February 20, 2020

The Cayman Islands Receive “Top Honors.” But, Global Financial Transparency is Reportedly Improving in General The United States has overtaken Switzerland as a financial secrecy haven, according to the latest rankings – the Financial Secrecy Index 2020 (“2020 Index”) – issued by the Tax Justice Network (“TJN”), which describes itself in part as an independent international network conducting research, analysis and advocacy on international tax and financial regulation and the impact of tax evasion and…

Covington Competition

The French telecoms regulator has entered the fray “prevailing digital platform”

By Miranda Cole & Barbara Monti

February 19, 2020

In his speech in Austin, Texas in 2019[1] and subsequent interviews,[2] the Chairman of the French Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP) and former general rapporteur at the French Competition Authority, Sébastien Soriano, suggested that it is no longer appropriate to apply the “Schumpeterian paradigm” to technology companies that he characterised as having reached “… a critical size making it unlikely that external innovation will reverse the situation”. Since then, Mr. Soriano…

Securities Law Exchange

SEC Staff Comments on Chegg’s Data Breach Disclosure and Response; A Real Life Example

By Jay Knight

February 18, 2020

One thing I appreciate about the SEC comment letter process is that it gives real life examples to what is often discussed hypothetically. Take, for example, cybersecurity and steps management should take when a data incident occurs. How quickly should a public company make its public disclosure of a data incident? What should it say? What should the process look like? In 2018, the SEC issued helpful interpretive guidance to assist public companies in preparing…

Down the Wire

Investment Association: Shareholder Priorities for 2020

By Andrew Gawley

February 18, 2020

In looking at shareholder priorities for the year ahead, the Investment Association (IA) has recently published a report which sets out the areas it believes investors will place greater importance on in terms of corporate delivery. These areas are: Responding to Climate Change. Audit Quality. Stakeholder Engagement and Employee Voice. Diversity. Taking a look at each of the areas in turn, the following particular points are made:…

Structured Finance In Brief

Agency CMBS – is now the time for borrowers to capitalise?

By Iain Balkwill

February 17, 2020

As was the case prior to the global financial crisis, the current driver for all new European CMBS deals stems from the adoption by investment banks of the originate-to-distribute business model for financing commercial real estate assets. This trend is showing no sign of abating in the CMBS 2.0 era. Although this is a proven and effective mechanism for producing much needed CMBS product, it is important for market participants to be aware that these…

Money Laundering Watch

FinCEN Stresses Transparency, BSA Filing Data, and Perils of “Under- Regulating” to Securities Industry

By Shauna Pierson & Peter D. Hardy

February 13, 2020

Last Thursday, FinCEN Deputy Director Jamal El-Hindi appeared at the 20th annual Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Crimes Conference hosted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) in New York City. His prepared remarks covered three main topics at the intersection of the securities industry and FinCEN’s enforcement goals: (i) AML compliance trends and current challenges; (ii) the value of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) filing data; and (iii) the current regulatory…

Iowa Banking Law Blog

On Demand Webinar: Avoiding Aggravation in Ag Lending – 2020 Edition

By noreply@dickinsonlaw.com Dickinson Mackaman Tyler Hagen P.C.

February 13, 2020

The only thing that is certain about the ag economy in 2020 is how uncertain it will be. Now is a good time for ag lenders to look at their portfolios to determine whether there are ways to button up their loan files to protect against that uncertainty. To assist, the below webinar first aired on February 13th, 2020, and is now available on demand. Hosted by the attorneys at Dickinson Law, it covers a variety of ag lending…

The Securities Edge

A not-so-modest proposal

By Robert B. Lamm

February 12, 2020

I don’t know very much about the federal budget process, but I do know that any budget proposed by the White House – regardless of its occupant – isn’t worth spending time on, and that by the time the budget is passed, it often looks nothing like the original proposal. Still, I am intrigued by one item in the 2021 budget proposed by the White House – specifically, the effective elimination of the Public Company…

Iowa Banking Law Blog

HUD Issues New Guidance on Emotional Support Animals

By The Newsroom

February 12, 2020

On January 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published “guidance clarifying how housing providers can comply with the Fair Housing Act when assessing a person’s request to have an animal in housing to provide assistance because of a disability.” The guidance focuses on the type and amount of documentation a housing provider may ask an individual with a disability to provide. According to HUD, the guidance is intended to…