It has been a year since Silicon Valley Bank failed, and one of the major policy questions that emerged – what to do about deposit insurance? – remains unresolved. Banking is an industry that needs public confidence to function, and we have become accustomed to relying on confidence-inspiring deposit insurance as our primary bulwark against
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Skadden Discusses Lender Compliance With CFPB’s Small Business Rule
Despite facing challenges both from Congress and in court, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) “Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)” (Small Business Rule) is likely here to stay.
In December 2023, President Biden vetoed the congressional challenge to the rule. And as long as the Supreme Court rules in CFPB…
How Technology Investment Drives Community Bank Consolidation
From 2011 to 2019, the number of bank charters fell by nearly one-third, from 7,357 to 5,177, with community banks accounting for three-quarters of this decline (FDIC Community Bank Report, 2020) In a new paper, we presents compelling evidence that the decline stems largely from bank mergers driven in part by a desire…
Davis Polk Discusses IRS Guidance on Tax-Exempts’ Claims for Renewable Energy Credits
Death by a Thousand Cuts: The Hostile Bids Regime in Europe, 2004-2023
In 2004, the European Union (EU) adopted the Takeover Directive, a framework statute aimed at regulating corporate control transactions and takeover bids targeting EU listed issuers. The Directive, amidst aspirations of fostering a unified market for corporate control and ensuring shareholder protection, was expected to facilitate takeovers as drivers of value creation. However, in the…
SEC Chair Speaks on Mandatory Disclosure at Conference Honoring John C. Coffee, Jr.
Today, Columbia is honoring Jack Coffee, a leader of securities law scholarship and policy. I hope Columbia one day might invite me back to celebrate your career, Professor Fox. Caveat inviter, though, at the SEC, we are Merritt neutral. As is customary, I’d like to note that my views are my own as Chair of…
How Directors’ Liability Protection Can Affect the Quality of Company Projects
Corporate executives are responsible for seeking and acting on business opportunities and investment initiatives (often called company “projects”). However, there is a danger that they will take on too many projects, which diminishes the overall quality of projects presented for board approval. This occurs most often when executives have ambitions of empire-building, driven by the…
Ropes & Gray Discusses Fifth Circuit Stay of SEC Climate Rules
On March 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted an administrative stay of the SEC’s climate disclosure rules, which were adopted on March 6. The rules are discussed in our earlier post here.
The 20-word order was in response to requests for injunctive relief filed with the Court by seven…
How Alliance Politics Skews Corporate Debt Restructurings
Traditionally, senior lenders have wielded all the control in bankruptcy and out-of-court restructurings. They usually hold liens on all or substantially all the debtor’s assets and enjoy payment priority over virtually all other claimants. Meanwhile, modern debt instruments often contain covenants that give lenders control over the debtor’s business and financial decisions.
But in recent…
Morrison & Foerster Discusses California Plan to Criminally Prosecute Antitrust Violations
In the latest development signaling California’s increasing efforts to police antitrust violations, on March 6, 2024, Senior Assistant Attorney General Paula Blizzard announced that the California Office of the Attorney General (“California AG”) Antitrust Section is reviving its criminal antitrust program under the California Cartwright Act, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 16700 et seq.…