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Banking

International

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision recently issued a final set of Principles for Enhancing Corporate Governance in the banking sector. Since the adoption of the 2006 principles, there have been a number of corporate governance failures and lapses, many of which became apparent during the financial crisis that began in 2007; the revised principles are intended to deal with these issues.

USA

Overview
Including: Basel IA and Basel II; Correspondent and Private Banking Accounts; Revised Examination Manual; Deposit Insurance Reform; Industrial Loan Companies; Cross-Border Wire Transfers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CPFB) has released a final rule implementing the remittance transfer provisions in Section 1073 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The final rule provides important new flexibility for remittance transfer providers, especially in open-loop environments such as international wire transfers. The CFPB also extended the effective date of the final rule to October 28 2013.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued guidance stating that it intends to use its regulatory tools, including enforcement lawsuits, to address discriminatory practices in auto lending. The CFPB bulletin represents an important development for the exercise of its fair-lending authority, as well as its authority over auto loans.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network recently issued guidance on how the Bank Secrecy Act applies to users, administrators and exchangers of 'convertible virtual currency'. Companies engaged in activities involving such currencies should assess the impact of the guidance on their obligations. Administrators and exchangers of such currencies should re-evaluate their status under money transmitter licensing laws.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council has issued a request for comment on proposed guidance entitled "Social Media: Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance". Once finalised, institutions will be expected to use the guidance in developing and implementing risk management policies and practices to manage and control risks associated with social media.

The Federal Reserve Board has issued a notice of proposed rule making which would implement the enhanced prudential standards and early remediation requirements in Sections 165 and 166 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act for certain foreign banking organisations (FBOs). The new rules are designed to respond to vulnerabilities in FBO activities observed during and after the financial crisis.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a proposed rule and request for comments outlining a limited set of revisions to its previously published final rule on international money transfers, and an extension of the date on which the rule would become effective. The proposal would amend the rule implementing Section 1073 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on remittance transfers.

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Capital Markets

USA

The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted Regulation FD, intended to address "the selective disclosure by issuers of material non-public information". In the same release of August 15 2000, the commission adopted rules intended "to clarify and enhance existing prohibitions against insider trading".

Healthcare & Life Sciences

USA

The Department of Health and Human Services has published final regulations for health insurance issuers offering non-grandfathered coverage in the individual or small-group markets to ensure that it includes an essential health benefit package. As there are no annual limits on these for plan years beginning on and after January 1 2014, it is important for all employers to know what benefits are considered essential.

The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services has released a highly anticipated final rule which makes sweeping changes to the privacy, security and enforcement regulations promulgated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, with the aim of building patient confidence in the security of electronic health records.

The Treasury Department recently published proposed excise tax regulations under Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, which was added to the code by the Affordable Care Act. These excise taxes are among the more controversial aspects of the Affordable Care Act, perhaps surpassed only by the mandate that practically every individual lawfully in the United States obtain adequate health coverage or pay a penalty.

The Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released both the Medicare physician fee schedule and hospital outpatient prospective payment system final rules with comment period. The final rules generally took effect on January 1 2013. In the final rules, CMS commented on and/or finalised a number of significant proposals relating to pharmaceutical and biological products.

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued important new guidance regarding the two existing methods by which covered entities may de-identify protected health information in accordance with the privacy rule promulgated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The guidance may signal that the OCR will make proper de-identification of protected health information an enforcement priority.

In a widely anticipated ruling the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently reversed the conviction of pharmaceutical sales representative Alfred Caronia for misbranding under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, based on alleged off-label promotion. The court agreed with Caronia that the government's prosecution had been based solely on speech promoting off-label uses.