Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
Steven Lofchie is a Partner based in New York. He advises financial institutions and corporate clients on the securities laws and the Commodity Exchange Act, with particular focus on the regulation of broker-dealers, swap dealers, investment funds and other market intermediaries. Steven's transactional practice focuses on securities credit and derivative transactions.
Recent Articles & Comments
In regard to the regulation of digital assets, the SEC is often accused of "regulation by enforcement." This seems a model example.
While staking is a common practice, it would not be obvious to the ordinary person that the practice, even as performed in the instant situation, constitutes a security. Therefore, the SEC's determination that in this case the practice constitutes a security may prevail if challenged in court. That said, making that determination in this enforcement…
Individual states compete to attract businesses. NASAA consistently opposes any federal initiative to reduce regulation. This Report may suggest that there is either a disconnect between NASAA's securities regulators and the interests of their states, or it may suggest that individual states should be given greater authority as to their citizens in ways that might incentivize them to weigh costs and benefits.
From a policy standpoint, the SEC should provide the requested information for transparency and public comment purposes. The SEC may face difficulty in presenting a convincing cost-benefit analysis, however, due to the complexity of the proposals and the assumed costs and benefits.
Hanging out there is a potential legal challenge to these proposals under the . The requested data would play a crucial role in such a challenge.
With a majority in the House, Republicans should have the ability at the Congressional level to obtain greater information from the SEC, including more testimony and the extent of evidence the agency has to support cost-benefit analyses in its rule proposals. Requiring the SEC to provide more information may, among other things, enable market participants to challenge any rulemaking that exceeds the SEC's statutory authority, or to challenge any rule that was adopted without meeting the…