- ArticleJuly/August 2021
In 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority, the U.K. authority that oversees the London interbank offered rate, announced that LIBOR may be phased out after the end of 2021. The announcement applied to all currency and term variants of LIBOR, including U.S. dollar denominated LIBOR.
- Client Alert
The date of the General Primary Election to be held in 2022 has been changed from March 15, 2022, to June 28, 2022. On May 31, 2021, the Illinois General Assembly adopted Senate Bill 825, which became Public Act 102-0015 after being signed into law by the Governor on June 17, 2021.
- Client Alert
On June 10, 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) applicable to the healthcare industry regarding COVID-19. The ETS applies to settings where any employee provides healthcare or healthcare support services, with certain specified exceptions.
- Chapman Insights
As Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance becomes more prominent, institutional investors, asset managers, financial institutions, and other stakeholders are increasingly looking at ESG factors in making investment and lending decisions. In doing so, these entities are relying on a number of information sources, including ESG ratings and reports.
- Article
On April 13, the Department of Labor released guidance on the prohibited transaction exemption pertaining to fiduciary investment advice for retirement investors, employee benefit plans and investment advice providers.
- Client Alert
A recent federal district court decision out of Massachusetts found that a bank was the true lender on a loan subsequently transferred to a trust consisting of student loans. Robinson and Spears v. Nat’l. Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2006-2, 2021 WL 1293707, Case No. 20-cv-10203 ADB (D. Mass. April 7, 2021).
- Chapman Insights
At today’s Earth Day Climate Summit, President Joe Biden announced to world leaders that the United States is committed to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to 52% from 2005 levels by 2030.
- Chapman Insights
Last week the Loan Syndications and Trading Association, the Loan Market Association, and the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association jointly published their first ever Social Loan Principles.
- Client Alert
On April 14, the U.S. Department of Labor announced guidance for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, record keepers, and plan participants on best practices for maintaining cybersecurity, including tips on how to protect the retirement benefits of participants.
- Client Alert
In the past few days, two courts have actions that are of significance to marketplace lenders and their funding sources.
- Client Alert
On April 9, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert highlighting observations made by the Division from recent examinations of investment advisers, registered investment companies, and private funds offering products and services that incorporate environmental, social, and governance factors.
- Article
The Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has expressed reservations about a Second Circuit decision regarding when transfers to financial institutions’ customers that are settlement payments or made in connection with securities contracts are entitled to protection from avoidance actions under the bankruptcy safe harbors.
- Chapman Insights
The Securities and Exchange Commission this month announced that the Divisions of Corporation Finance, Examinations, and Enforcement are all undertaking climate or ESG-related initiatives.
- Client Alert
The Department of Labor announced that it will not enforce its previously issued final rule regarding plan fiduciaries’ use of environmental, social and governance factors in selecting investments for tax‑qualified retirement plans.
- Client Alert
On March 12, the Occupational Safety and Health Commission announced a National Emphasis Program for COVID-19. The NEP is in response to an Executive Order issued by President Biden directing the Secretary of Labor to launch a national program to focus OSHA enforcement efforts related to COVID-19 on industries with the largest numbers of workers at serious risk.
- Client Alert
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations has released its 2021 Examination Priorities.
- Chapman Insights
Environmental, Social and Governance investing in the United States has reportedly reached an estimated $250 billion in assets under management and is expected to see continued growth in 2021 and beyond.
- Chapman Insights
Investor interest in rated-debt feeder funds has grown since we first issued our Action Item concerning such funds in March 2019. We expect this interest to continue as the private credit market expands through the COVID-19 crisis.
- Client Alert
On February 4, the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission announced they would be suspending the practice of allowing early ends to the merger review process under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.
- Client Alert
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. recently issued its 2021 Report on FINRA’s Risk Monitoring and Examination Activities. The new Report is designed to assist FINRA member firms’ compliance programs by providing annual insights from FINRA’s ongoing regulatory operations.
- Chapman Insights
On January 26, Moody’s Investors Service announced it had published a new methodology for rating US public school districts that provide education or educational services.
- Client Alert
On December 27, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was signed into law, which, among other things, contains an important amendment to Section 547 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
- Client Alert
On December 22, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amended Rule 206(4)‑1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, which addresses investment advisers marketing their services to clients and investors
- Client Alert
On November 17, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to Rule 302(b) of Regulation S-T, which will provide more flexibility in connection with SEC filings by allowing the use of electronic signatures in authentication documents.
- Client Alert
On October 30, the Department of Labor issued a final rule which amends its 1979 investment duties regulation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, to update and clarify its position with respect to ERISA plan fiduciaries’ use of environmental, social and governance factors in selecting investments.
- Client Alert
This fall, the Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed additional avenues for businesses to raise capital away from the use of registered broker‑dealers.
- Client Alert
Under the expanded Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments Program, more than 22,000 Medicare Part A providers and 28,000 Medicare Part B suppliers requested and received accelerated or advance payments from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to help ease financial strain and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Article
In June, the IRS issued several notices that provide more details on the SECURE Act, passed in late 2019, and the CARES Act, passed in late March. This Client Alert will cover two primary topics: Coronavirus-Related Distribution Rules and the 2020 RMD Waiver Rule.
- Client Alert
In 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion finding that, under the doctrine of federal preemption, a non-bank assignee of a bank loan could not charge and collect the rates and fees that the bank could charge and was therefore subject to state law usury limits.
- White Paper
As companies default under their credit agreements, lenders have to decide what course of action is appropriate to effectuate their goals. Should the lender give the borrower breathing room by entering into a forbearance agreement in exchange for certain milestones, or is more aggressive enforcement action required?
- Article
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently issued its final rule codifying as a regulation that the interest charged on loans that is permissible before the loan is transferred remains in effect after the loan is transferred.
- Client Alert
The parties to the closely watched litigation by the Attorney General of Colorado as Administrator of the Colorado Uniform Consumer Credit Code against two marketplace lending platforms have agreed to settle the litigation.
- Client Alert
This is the third and final Client Alert of a three-part series relating to executing a Strict Foreclosure. As discussed in our previous Client Alerts, it is imperative to focus on who is going to run the business after consummating the Strict Foreclosure.
- Article
The CARES Act, which was designed to support individuals and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, was signed into law on March 27. This article summarizes various tax provisions in the CARES Act.
- Article
The CARES Act, which was enacted to support individuals and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, provides that borrowers experiencing financial hardship due to the national emergency declared by the President, may request and obtain forbearance on certain federally backed mortgage loans.
- Client Alert
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have been quite active in issuing or proposing new regulations and initiatives focused on financial technology and innovation in financial services.
- Client Alert
This is the second Client Alert of a three-part series relating to executing a Strict Foreclosure.
- Chapman Insights
In 2017, the UK authority that oversees the London interbank offered rate, announced that LIBOR may be phased out after the end of 2021. The announcement applied to all currency and term variants of LIBOR, including US dollar denominated LIBOR.
- Client Alert
This Client Alert is part of a three Alert series. This Alert focuses on when Strict Foreclosure can be a lender’s best option and the potential path to execute a Strict Foreclosure.
- Client Alert
The Federal Reserve has established the Main Street Loan Program to provide support to small and medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Client Alert
The Department of Labor proposed a new investment advice fiduciary rule, which generally reinstates the DOL’s longstanding investment advice fiduciary test and provides a new prohibited transaction exemption for such fiduciaries.
- Client Alert
On June 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order granting registered municipal advisors an emergency, temporary conditional exemption from broker registration under Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in connection with certain direct placement activities.
- Client Alert
The General Assembly passed Senate Bill 2135 on May 23 and the Governor signed the same on June 12. The Act provides greater flexibility for public bodies to conduct business remotely when in-person attendance is not feasible due to a disaster.
- Client Alert
On June 11, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued an updated Notice of Interest for the Municipal Liquidity Facility to reflect the expansion of eligibility for the facility.
- Client Alert
On June 5, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 was signed into law and made key changes to the Paycheck Protection Program just a few weeks before the program’s official termination on June 30.
- Client Alert
On June 3, the Federal Reserve announced expanded eligibility for its Municipal Liquidity Facility. Under the new terms, a State that does not have at least two total counties or cities that meet the minimum population requirements will be able to identify a city or county to be an Eligible Issuer.
- Client Alert
On May 29, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued its final rule codifying as a regulation that the interest charged on loans that is permissible before the loan is transferred remains in effect after the loan is transferred.
- Client Alert
This client alert will address questions about loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program for both borrowers and lenders as known at the current time, but we note that legislative efforts currently underway may change the terms of these loan forgiveness provisions.
- Client Alert
On May 23, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 2135, providing for amendments to Sections 2.01 and 7 of the Open Meetings Act of the State of Illinois. The changes provide greater flexibility for public bodies to conduct business remotely when in-person attendance is not feasible due to a disaster.