The SIFI designation program process is subjective and almost completely exempt from being subject to legal standards. FSOC has ten factors that it must consider – each of which is subjective – but it can determine which factors to consider, how to weigh them and which standards to apply; in other words, there are effectively no real legal standards. Writing a brief arguing that FSOC failed to reach a bar set so low is a tough task. That said, following FSOC's designation of…

Although this enforcement action was not taken against government officials directly, it is but one among several recent actions brought by the SEC that involve misrepresentations by municipalities. As municipalities come under increasing financial pressure, there is likely to be tension between the SEC, which seeks to raise standards of disclosure in the municipal debt markets, and government officials, who wish to talk down the interest rates that they must pay.

In a statement accompanying the new set of rules, Benjamin Lawsky, the Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, stated that he had resisted pressure to "ban Bitcoin" (a view that he said was "Luddite"), and had instead attempted to develop regulations that would contribute to the "long-term health of the virtual currency industry."

The new rules are fairly significant in scope and thus, add to the expense of the compliance burden. They provide a significant…

The bill is a reflection of a widely (though not universally) shared view that the hasty rulemaking activities of the CFTC, after the passage of Dodd Frank, resulted in damage to the economy and poisoned relationships with financial regulators around the world. There is no doubt that the proposed amendments would make it more difficult for the CFTC to adopt rules, insofar as the amendments would subject the CFTC to the requirement of a demonstration that its rules could be justified…