It has long been the case in the broker-dealer industry that a firm cannot materially soften the published reason for its discharge of an employee or conceal the reason why the employee decided to leave. The requirement to be truthful is often not easily married with the desire not to be unduly harsh. Public issuers may now need to learn to walk that tightrope. Issuers should also be mindful that employees may seek redress for assertions that the employees believe are incorrect.

Banks should be able to, if nothing else, provide custodial services for digital assets. When the Madoff fraud was uncovered, the response of the regulators was not to say that securities activities were risky, and therefore banks should not provide custody as to securities. As to crypto assets, the real risk the bank regulators are imposing on the public is discouraging regulated entities from providing custodial services.

If greenhouse gas reporting goes forward, Commissioner Peirce is likely to look back on these budget increases for audit requirements as the good old days.

NYDFS tries to walk a difficult political line in this guidance. It says that (i) on the one hand, low income communities will be the ones most impacted by climate change, and (ii) on the other hand, banks must not reduce lending to low income communities. What follows from those contradictory statements?