On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The legislation marks the greatest change to the financial landscape in decades, affecting the regulation of domestic and foreign financial institutions, banking entities and commercial companies. Many of the Dodd-Frank Act's provisions rely heavily on rulemaking and interpretation by financial regulators. Since Dodd-Frank's enactment, Davis Polk has offered a growing suite of resources to help institutions and market participants understand and comply with the new requirements and stay informed about recent rules, regulator studies, important dates and upcoming deadlines in the implementation process.
Dodd-Frank Memoranda
Davis Polk frequently issues memoranda on key rulemakings and developments related to the ongoing implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Click the topics below to access the relevant memoranda.
Dodd-Frank Enhanced Prudential Standards for Foreign Banking Organizations
On December 14, 2012, the Federal Reserve proposed a tiered approach for applying U.S. capital, liquidity and other Dodd-Frank enhanced prudential standards to the U.S. operations of foreign banking organizations with total global assets of $50 billion or more (“Large FBOs”). Most Large FBOs would have to create a separately capitalized top-tier U.S. intermediate holding company (“IHC”) that would hold all U.S. bank and nonbank subsidiaries. The IHC would be subject to U.S. capital, liquidity and other enhanced prudential standards on a consolidated basis. Although the U.S. branches and agencies of a Large FBO’s foreign bank would not be required to be held beneath the IHC, they would be subject to liquidity, single counterparty credit limits and, in certain circumstances, asset maintenance requirements under the proposal. Large FBOs not required to form an IHC would also be subject to many of the new enhanced prudential standards.
Davis Polk has prepared a memorandum that provides an overview of key aspects of the Federal Reserve’s proposal along with diagrams and tables for a visual representation of the proposed new requirements.
Read more >
View the diagrams and tables >
Solving the "Too Big to Fail" Problem: Resolution Authority vs. Chapter 14
On June 20, Davis Polk lawyers Randall Guynn and John Douglas spoke on a teleforum entitled, “Solving the ‘Too Big to Fail’ Problem: Resolution Authority vs. Chapter 14.” The event was hosted by The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies’ Financial Services & E-Commerce Practice Group, and explores the Too Big to Fail problem in the post-Dodd-Frank era.
Listen to a podcast of the teleforum >
Regulation of Foreign Banks and Affiliates in the United States, 6th edition
We are pleased to announce the publication of Regulation of Foreign Banks and Affiliates in the United States, 6th edition, by Westlaw. Randall D. Guynn, head of Davis Polk's Financial Institutions Group, served as co-editor and several Davis Polk partners contributed chapters. This publication contains authoritative coverage of federal and state laws governing the regulation of foreign banks in the United States and the international operations of domestic banking institutions. It covers every aspect of the field – from entry requirements to permissible activities to taxation, and includes an extended analysis of the impact of Dodd-Frank and its implementing regulations, reflecting the profound changes that are reshaping the banking industry.
For more information about the book and downloadable PDFs of Davis Polk's chapters:
White Paper on the Separate Entity Doctrine as Applied to the U.S. Branches of Foreign Headquartered (Non-U.S.) Banks
On April 19, 2012, Davis Polk, in conjunction with Cleary Gottlieb and Sullivan & Cromwell authored a white paper on the separate entity doctrine as applied to the U.S. branches of foreign headquartered banks. The hybrid treatment of the U.S. branches of foreign headquartered banks has become a subject of focus in the wake of the financial crisis and in light of the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act. The white paper provides a summary of the regulatory treatment of U.S. branches of foreign headquartered banks under various U.S. legal regimes, and highlights the hybrid nature of such branches.
Read the white paper >
Volcker Rule – Federalist Society and ABA Panel Discussion with Randall Guynn
On February 16, 2012, Davis Polk partner Randall Guynn spoke on a panel entitled, “The Volcker Rule: Curbing Risk or Curbing the Economy?” at an event hosted by The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies’ Financial Services & E-Commerce Practice Group and the American Bankers Association. The panel examined the value of the Volcker Rule itself, as well as regulatory efforts to address the details of implementation.
View a video of the discussion >
Volcker Rule – Proposed Regulations
The Federal Banking Agencies have released their proposed regulations implementing the Volcker Rule. Rather than prepare a traditional law firm summary, Davis Polk has prepared two sets of graphical slides: one that maps the key restrictions on proprietary trading and another that maps the key restrictions on relationships with hedge funds or private equity funds. Interactive versions of the flowcharts are available at http://www.volckerrule.com.
As a subscription-based product, Davis Polk offers the Volcker Rulemap, a product on the Davis Polk Regulatory Hub.