The Senate Banking Committee (the "Committee") considered the roles that special interest groups and retail investors play on environmental, social and corporate governance ("ESG"). At a Committee hearing, Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) emphasized that retail investors must have a voice in investment and corporate governance decisions, which represent their shares. He noted that index funds hold just over 17 percent of all U.S. shares and are the largest shareholders in 40 percent of all U.S. companies. Former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm argued that past reforms by Congress, the SEC and the

The House Financial Services Committee (the "Committee") reviewed the post-financial crisis operations of seven of the eight global systemically important banks ("GSIBs"): Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, State Street Corporation, the Bank of New York Mellon and Goldman Sachs. CEOs from each of these GSIBs testified. According to a memorandum by the Committee's Majority Staff, GSIBs have over $11 trillion in combined assets, which comprise roughly 50 percent of domestic banking assets. They hold roughly $4.1 trillion in loans and supply over $700 billion in

.CFTC Commissioner Rostin Behnam described recent developments related to LIBOR, margin and swap execution facility ("SEF") reform. At the ISDA 24th Annual General Meeting, Mr. Behnam reported that (i) ISDA is updating its definitions to incorporate new benchmark fallbacks and is intending to publish a protocol to permit market participants to include fallbacks in legacy contracts, (ii) the Alternative Reference Rates Committee met to identify an alternative risk-free reference, and (iii) the CFTC Market Risk Advisory Committee formed an Interest Rate Benchmark Reform Subcommittee to focus on

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce voiced concern that certain agency guidance may have turned into a "body of secret law" due to a lack of transparency and accountability. In remarks at the "SEC Speaks" Conference, Ms. Peirce said that staff guidance can help market participants to "navigate the complexity" of the federal securities laws. She stated that such guidance performs several important functions, which include helping to ensure that the SEC is responsive to the markets and that market participants are able to satisfy their regulatory obligations. Further, Ms. Peirce stated that no-action

The SEC proposal modifying the offering process for business development companies ("BDCs") and other closed-end investment companies under the Securities Act was published in the Federal Register. Comments on the proposal must be submitted by June 10, 2019 (see related coverage).