The Financial Stability Board ("FSB") updated its list of global systemically important banks ("GSIBs") for 2018. Group BPCE has been added and Nordea and the Royal Bank of Scotland have been removed. FSB stated that member authorities continue to apply the following requirements on GSIBs: (i) higher capital buffers; (ii) the Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity (TLAC) standard and regulatory capital requirements set out in the Basel III framework; (iii) resolution planning and regular resolvability assessments; and (iv) higher supervisory expectations including heightened supervisory expectations

SIFMA urged the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") to strengthen a proposed rule on implementing the uniform mortgage-backed security ("UMBS"). In a comment letter, SIFMA stated it supports the "codification of alignment initiatives" to foster confidence in the "To-Be-Announced" ("TBA") market. SIFMA recommended that the FHFA: enhance the definition of "alignment" by (i) focusing on the subset of mortgage-backed securities that affect TBA pricing and (ii) preventing "material deviations in the key pool characteristics that drive future prepayment activity"; and adopt a final rule that

In an advisory, the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), the State Department and the Coast Guard (collectively, the "agencies") warned parties involved in petroleum shipments to Syria of the risks of U.S. sanctions. According to the agencies, sanctions risks extend to insurers, shipping companies and financial institutions, among others. The agencies cautioned that those who participate in facilitating financial transfers, logistics or insurance affiliated with petroleum shipments are at risk. The agencies said the U.S. is committed to interrupting illicit financial

The Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC proposed to exempt residential real estate transactions of $400,000 or less from appraisal requirements. According to the agencies, the proposal would require that residential real estate transactions below the new $400,000 threshold be supported by an evaluation that contains "sufficient information and analysis to support the decision to engage in the transaction." In addition, the proposed rule amendment would implement changes required by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act

ISDA analyzed the impact of a "hard" Brexit (where the UK leaves both the European Union and the European Economic Area) on U.S. swap market participants. A table published by ISDA addresses whether a hard Brexit would affect the ability of UK firms to rely on various CFTC no-action letters. ISDA identified four types of no-action letters that it assumes would continue to be available even in the event of a hard Brexit, as the letters generally are available to all non-U.S. firms. In addition, the table describes various comparability exemptions that the CFTC has granted to firms subject to EU