LRA Updates

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS Administration’s Regulatory Reform Agenda This month, the Administration issued its last legislative text as prescribed by its white paper, “Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation” released in June.  Among the proposed legislation delivered to Capitol Hill was the National Bank Supervisor and Resolution Authority legislation.  This proposed legislation would create a National Bank…

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS SEC Money Market Fund Reform In September 2008, the Reserve Primary Fund’s NAV fell below the level invested in the fund, a rare occurrence referred to as “breaking the buck.”  As a result of the low NAV and massive withdrawal from money market funds, the Treasury Department instituted a temporary program that guaranteed…

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS The Obama Administration’s Regulatory Reform Proposal On June 17th, the Treasury Department released its white paper titled “Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation.” The much anticipated white paper sets out the key proposals intended to restore confidence in the integrity of the financial system. The white paper introduces several new regulators and/or agencies…

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS The Obama Administration’s 264(f) Proposal As we reported in an Ad Hoc LRA, on May 11th, the Obama Administration 2010 budget proposals which would effectively inhibit substantially all new COLI/BOLI purchases.  The proposal accomplishes this by removing the current 264(f) exception for policies covering the lives of individuals who at the time first…

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS TARP Funds May Become Available to Insurers Last week Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote a letter to the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel regarding the current state of TARP funds.  In the letter, Geithner considered future disbursements to banks and insurance companies in estimating the total amount of funds to be disbursed through the…

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) The Federal Reserve Bank of New York began accepting subscriptions for TALF loans on March 17, 2009.  The first settlement date was March 25, 2009.  According to a Federal Reserve TALF Operation Announcement, $4.7B was requested in this first facility.  TALF is designed to help market participants…

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS New Treasury Executive Compensation Guidelines On February 4th, the Treasury Department issued new guidelines on executive pay and related matters applicable to financial institutions receiving government assistance.  The guidance provides for a distinction between institutions participating in any “new generally available capital access programs” (e.g., programs similar to the existing CPP) and those…

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS Second Tranche of TARP Funds will be Released to Treasury While there was an attempt to block the second tranche of TARP funds, it was not successful and the Treasury will have access to the funds.  On Tuesday, January 13, 2009, a group of Republican Senators, led by David Vitter (R-LA) introduced a…

ACCOUNTING DEVELOPMENTS FASB Accounting Standards Codification Expected to Officially Launch July 2009 On July 1, 2009, the FASB Accounting Standards Codification™ is expected to officially become the single source of authoritative nongovernmental U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), superseding existing FASB, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), and related literature.…

ACCOUNTING DEVELOPMENTS SEC Proposes IFRS Roadmap The SEC has published its roadmap for the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Originally announced in August, it aims to move U.S. companies from U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to IFRS, with most large companies making the transition in 2014. However, the 20 largest U.S.-based companies…