As discussed in our November 17, 2020, blog post, “LIBOR Is Fading Away,” the London Interbank Offering Rate (“LIBOR”) became a widely accepted interest rate in the 1970s in London, under an arrangement eventually formalized in 1984 by the British Bankers Association.» Read More

Alternative Trading Systems

On Monday, September 28, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed to extend the scope of Regulation ATS to trading in government securities. Regulation ATS (“Alternative Trading Systems”) was originally adopted by the SEC in 1998 in response to the then growth of trading of equity securities not registered on a securities exchange.» Read More

Please note that this has been updated on December 3, 2020, at “LIBOR Is Fading Away; But, Perhaps, Not as Quickly as Thought.”

For decades, lenders have extended credit facilities, both large and small, using LIBOR-based interest rates and documents relating to these facilities, such as promissory notes as adjustable mortgages, and often contain LIBOR-related provisions.» Read More

Many years ago, in the 1940s, there was a series of B movies about a private eye named Boston Blackie, a former jewel thief turned investigator. Those movies were followed (1951-1953) by a weekly television show featuring the same actor, Chester Morris, in the title role.» Read More

The Great Plains Trust Company, Inc., was chartered in April 1994 by the State Bank Commissioner of Kansas to transact a general trust company business, (but was not chartered to nor did it) accept deposits. Its initial business was to “provide investment management services to employee benefit plans” (according to the Trust Company’s history on its website).» Read More

Banking, at least since the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913 and the creation of Federal Deposit Insurance under the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 (FDIC insurance actually became effective January 1, 1934), has been seen (at least in popular portrayals in books and movies) as a rather staid business conducted in marble edifices by men (although that is changing) who were reserved and rather aloof.» Read More

The international payment system was put together at a beautiful New England country lodge, the Mount Washington Hotel, at the base of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, in the closing months of World War II in 1944. One of the fundamental agreements reached by the 730 delegates from 44 nations at the United Nations Financial and Monetary Conference over three weeks in July was that American dollars were convertible into gold at the fixed rate of $35 per ounce.» Read More

Although brief in length, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (the “Act”) that was signed into law by President Trump on June 5, 2020, clarifies how borrowers can use Payment Protection Program (“PPP”) loans made pursuant to the CARES Act and grants borrowers much-needed flexibility in the requirements for PPP forgiveness.» Read More

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on May 28, 2020, to relax the terms and conditions for forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, just before the eight-week covered periods for early borrowers are coming to an end. The Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, H.R.» Read More

For those who have been following the latest with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, it was a busy end to last week! We’ve previously issued an analysis of the CARES Act of 2020 through our “Inside the CARES Act” series on the Norris McLaughlin Biz Law Blog, but this past week saw the passage of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (Paycheck II), as well as updated FAQs from the Treasury Department and additional guidance from the Small Business Administration (SBA) in another Interim Final Rule issued on Friday, April 24.» Read More