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Steven Lofchie is the Chief Legal Architect and a co-founder of Caffrey.AI, an AI platform built for law firms, banks, and the financial regulatory industry. He is also a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, where he advises financial institutions on securities laws, the Commodity Exchange Act, and broker-dealer regulation. Ranked by Chambers USA every year since 2007, he is the author of “Lofchie’s Guide to Broker-Dealer Regulation,” long considered the leading treatise on the subject.

Recent Articles & Comments

The argument that broker-dealers should not be responsible for the misuse of data that they do not control seems on its face quite reasonable. It re-raises, however, a more fundamental question. Is the collection of so much sensitive data in a single location a good idea? The SEC simply cannot guarantee that the system will be always safe from hacking. The regulatory benefits do not seem to justify the cybersecurity risks.

Leaving aside CAT-specific…

The press release headline for this action is "SEC Proposes to Modernize Framework for Fund Valuation Practices." On February 14, the SEC issued a proposal to "modernize" key market infrastructure; on January 30, proposed to "modernize" financial disclosure and, to close out last year, proposed to "modernize" the auditor independence rules. See for 2020. Earlier, the SEC proposed to "modernize" the use of derivatives by…

Though the statement concerns emerging markets generally, a quick search turns up 29 references to China and none to Brazil, Russia, or India. Chinese issuers seeking to offer securities in the United States may expect to face closer scrutiny of their offering documents. Firms participating in such offerings must anticipate the risks of review of their diligence should an offering go badly. Likewise, funds that invest offshore should review their disclosures. Advisers and broker-dealers that…

It is possible that the difference in legal outcomes by different agencies is based upon statutory language. It may be more likely that it is policy discretion that has resulted in such a sharp distinction between the CFTC's attitude towards crypto-products and that of the SEC. See, e.g., .