Anne M. Termine

May 4, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 4, 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (the “FRBNY”) released an updated series of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) regarding two of the Federal Reserve’s liquidity facilities established to provide financial assistance to businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic: the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility (“PMCCF”) and the Secondary ...

May 1, 2020, Covington Alert

Yesterday, April 30, 2020, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System announced important changes to the Main Street Lending Program (the “Program”) that it had introduced on April 9, 2020. The changes reflect further information and clarification with respect to the terms and conditions of the Program and address, at least in part, feedback that the ...

April 23, 2020, Covington Alert

As the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) is about to re-open following passage of a bill that will provide additional $310 billion in funds to the program (including funds reserved for loans by certain small and mid-sized lenders), the rules of the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) that prohibit or restrict loans to the small business ventures of bank ...

April 14, 2020, Cov Financial Services

On April 10, 2020 the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ( the “CFTC” or the “Commission”) extended certain currently-open comment periods for several pending proposed rules in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Commission completed voting to adopt the relatively short extensions on Thursday, April 9.  The measure passed by a final tally of 3-2, with...… ...

April 9, 2020, Covington Alert

Today, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve announced the creation of four new liquidity facilities and the expansion of three previously announced liquidity facilities to provide credit to borrowers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas the previously announced programs primarily targeted certain financial markets and their participants (such as ...

April 7, 2020, Cov Financial Services

On March 31, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) announced the release of a targeted, temporary no-action letter aimed at foreign affiliates of futures commission merchants (FCMs).  This relief is meant to ease regulatory burdens in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic.  In short, ...

April 6, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 24, 2020, the CFTC unanimously voted to adopt final interpretive guidance on when “actual delivery” of retail commodity transactions in virtual currencies occurs within the meaning of Section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Commodities Exchange Act, making them eligible to meet the exception from regulation as a futures contract. The CFTC previously published ...

March 24, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 23, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “FRB”) announced the latest in a series of extraordinary actions intended to help mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. economy. Unlike the measures announced last week – which mostly involved re-establishing emergency programs that were used during the 2008–09 financial ...

March 23, 2020, Cov Financial Services

On March 20, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a third wave of relief to market participants in the wake of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. In this current wave of relief, the CFTC included two no-action letters, which provided “temporary, targeted relief to a large U.S. bank that helps finance America’s oil and...… Continue ...

March 23, 2020, Cov Financial Services

On March 18, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued a Customer Advisory cautioning the public to be on alert for increased fraudulent activity amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency’s alert followed a series of similar warnings published by other agencies. The CFTC advised that fraudsters may be attempting to profit by taking advantage of...… ...

March 19, 2020, Covington Alert

Yesterday, on March 18, 2020, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Board”) announced the creation of a Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (“MMLF”) to provide liquidity support to money market mutual funds (“MMMFs”) by facilitating their sale of certain assets in order to meet redemption requests. Under the MMLF, the Federal Reserve ...

March 18, 2020, Covington Alert

On March 17, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) and Division of Market Oversight (DMO) each released an announcement regarding a series of no-action letters in response to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic (see here for the DSIO announcement and here for the DMO announcement). The ...

March 18, 2020, Covington Alert

Yesterday, on March 17, 2020, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“FRB”) announced the creation of a Primary Dealer Credit Facility (“PDCF”) to provide a liquidity backstop to primary dealers of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (“FRBNY”), which include the nation’s largest broker-dealers. The PDCF will provide short-term loans to primary ...

March 17, 2020, Covington Alert

Today, on March 17, 2020, the Federal Reserve provided a backstop of commercial paper ("CP") in the form of a Commercial Paper Funding Facility (“CPFF”) that establishes a special purpose vehicle (“SPV”) to acquire eligible CP directly from eligible issuers.  The CPFF will provide liquidity to CP issuers that may otherwise face issues rolling over their CP in ...

March 16, 2020, Covington Alert

Yesterday, on Sunday, March 15, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on U.S. and global economic activity, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) cut the target range of the federal funds rate to 0 to 1/4 percent until such time as the FOMC is “confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve ...

February 5, 2020, Law360

Anne Termine is quoted in Law360 regarding the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s effort to impose position limits meant to curb speculators’ ability to distort prices. The new plan allows users to seek exemptions not set forth in the rule proposal by applying directly to their relevant exchanges. The CFTC would have 10 days to review that decision or ...

February 3, 2020, Covington Alert

At an open meeting on January 30, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) voted 3–2 to approve a proposed rule that would impose federal position limits on derivatives. The proposed rule, if finalized, would prevent excessive speculation while allowing bona fide hedgers in agricultural, energy, metals, and other commodities markets to hedge risk ...

January 1, 2020, Law360

Anne Termine is quoted in Law360 regarding CFTC’s proposal to regulate cross-border swaps and govern when cross-border swaps should be registered with the agency. Ms. Termine says, “The commission is trying to thread the needle of registration that is not over-reaching beyond our borders, yet sufficiently protects the interests of the U.S. and U.S. markets. This ...

October 14, 2019, Cov Financial Services

On Friday, the leaders of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued a “Joint Statement on Activities Involving Digital Assets” (the “Joint Statement”).  The Joint Statement serves as a reminder that businesses engaged in ...

September 18, 2019, Cov Financial Services

On Monday, September 16, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC” or the “Commission”) announced that it has approved final regulations (the “final rule”) that will streamline and clarify the Volcker Rule – a statutory provision that generally prohibits banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading, or from taking an ownership interest in, ...

August 20, 2019, Cov Financial Services

On August 14, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a consent order (the “Consent Order”)—agreed to by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), Kraft Foods Group Inc. (“Kraft”) and Mondelēz Global LLC (“Mondelēz”)—to resolve long-running market manipulation litigation between the parties. The Consent Order ...

August 14, 2019, The Information

Anne Termine spoke with The Information about the issues cryptocurrency exchange companies face with U.S. regulation. Some exchange companies have resulted to forbidding U.S. customers from using their services. Ms. Termine said that to avoid regulatory scrutiny and possible fines, crypto exchanges should make a “reasonable effort” to prevent U.S. residents from ...

June 7, 2019, Law360

Anne Termine is quoted in Law360 regarding the SEC’s enforcement on fintech and cryptocurrency matters. Ms. Termine says, “From my perspective, having a no-fine case is a pretty big deal. And I think the SEC wanted to make pretty clear that it was a big deal that this was a self-report and that [the company was] recognizing the SEC jurisdiction, that they were ...

May 6, 2019, CoinDesk

Anne Termine is quoted in CoinDesk regarding the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s willingness to let an ether futures contract go to market. Ms. Termine says, “As such, the CFTC has limited regulatory oversight over cryptocurrency spot markets, namely the ability to take enforcement action whenever there is fraud or manipulation in these spot ...

May 2019, InCiDA

March 29, 2019, Cov Financial Services

On Wednesday, March 27, 2019, the CFTC’s Market Intelligence Branch of the Division of Market Oversight issued a report on the impact of automated orders in futures markets to determine how technological change affects futures trading. Automated trading refers to orders that are generated or routed without human intervention. The CFTC presented the report ...

March 26, 2019, Risk

Anne Termine is quoted in Risk regarding U.S. margin rules in the event of Brexit. To ensure continued access to the full range of services, EU-based swaps counterparties may wish to move their contracts to affiliates outside of the UK, says Ms. Termine. Swaps dealers may need to move their swaps, for example, to the EU from a UK platform because there is no ...

February 15, 2019, Cov Financial Services

On February 12, 2019, for the first time in its history, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) announced the release of 2019 examination priorities for each of its regulatory Divisions.  CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo stated that “[t]his first-ever publication of division examination priorities is in line with Project KISS and other agency ...

January 29, 2019, Commodity Markets Council State of the Industry Conference

January 28, 2019, Cov Financial Services

The past few weeks have been chaotic for both Brexit negotiations and U.K. politics overall. On January 15, 2019, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan succumbed to historic defeat in Parliament. Brexit watchers expected a defeat but the record margin of 432 votes against, and 202 votes for, was still shocking. On January 16,...… Continue Reading

January 28, 2019, Covington Alert

The past few weeks have been chaotic for both Brexit negotiations and UK politics overall. On January 15, 2019, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan succumbed to historic defeat in Parliament.

January 25, 2019, ABA Futures & Derivatives Law Conference

January 15, 2019, Bloomberg Law

Anne Termine is quoted in Bloomberg Law regarding the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s enforcement of cryptocurrency coming to a halt with the government shutdown. Ms. Termine says, “It’s an agency working at 10,000 feet right now.” She adds that an extended shutdown could impact the agency’s preparation for oral arguments. “In litigation, March is around ...

March 2018, Futures and Derivatives Law Report, Volume 38, Issue 3

February 15, 2018, Bloomberg Law

Anne Termine is quoted in a Bloomberg Law article regarding the settlement reached with AMP Global Clearing LLC following charges from the CFTC stating that AMP's failure to diligently supervise a cybersecurity vendor resulted in a data breach. According to Termine, cybersecurity is “an area of increasing concern and scrutiny for the CFTC as it goes directly to ...

October 5, 2017, Risk

Anne Termine is quoted in a Risk article examining recent cases that have restricted the extraterritorial application of the Commodity Exchange Act. “I don’t think the Brent case ruling will deter any enforcement programme by the CFTC on an extraterritoriality basis,” says Termine. “However, it does give pause because some parts of the language are incorrect ...

September 27, 2017, Bloomberg BNA

Anne Termine is quoted in a Bloomberg BNA article regarding the CFTC's new enforcement policy following Director James McDonald's September 25 speech. Termine asks, "Will every report to the CFTC result in an enforcement investigation?’’ McDonald indicated that’s not where he wants to go and seems to recognize that the CFTC has to establish a dialogue with the ...

September 25, 2017, Bloomberg BNA

Anne Termine is quoted in a Bloomberg BNA article ahead of CFTC Director James McDonald's expected announcement of a new policy to incentivize self-reporting and cooperation. According to Termine, the CFTC "wants to encourage cooperation, but then people are asking, `what is cooperation going to get me?' That's the number one complaint I always get." She adds, ...

August 30, 2017, Law360

August 28, 2017, Covington Alert

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC” or the “Commission”) has been very active since the beginning of this year, despite the change in Presidential Administration, the lack (until recently) of appointed Commissioners, and the turnover of leadership at both the Commission and Division level. Notably, the Commission has announced over 20 ...

August 8, 2017, Law360

Anne Termine is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the Seventh Circuit's decision to uphold the conviction of Michael Coscia for "spoofing." According to Termine, “The short takeaway is that it was a complete win for the government." She adds, “There wasn’t a single portion of Coscia’s argument that the court accepted.”

June 12, 2017, Law360

Anne Termine is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's reaction to a recent internal watchdog review of the agency's oversight of the National Futures Association. According to Termine, it appeared the CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight was saying that it has a core mission and a core duty and that ...

June 7, 2017, Covington Alert

On Monday, in Kokesh v. SEC, the Supreme Court handed a major loss to the Securities and Exchange Commission, unanimously holding that SEC claims for disgorgement of ill-gotten gains are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. The Kokesh decision also calls into question the proper measure of disgorgement (e.g., gross versus net profits) and even whether ...

June 7, 2017, Covington Alert

On Monday, in Kokesh v. SEC,1 the Supreme Court handed a major loss to the Securities and Exchange Commission, unanimously holding that SEC claims for disgorgement of ill-gotten gains are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. For decades, the SEC had taken the position that its disgorgement claims could reach back indefinitely, and recently obtained a ...

May 17, 2017, The National Law Journal

Anne Termine is quoted by The National Law Journal in an article regarding the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's new initiative, LabCFTC, designed to engage innovators in the financial technology industry. “As progressive as this effort might be for the CFTC, it is not the same as a regulatory sandbox, as other regulators around the world have ...

April 24, 2017, Covington Alert

On April 19, 2017, the House Financial Services Committee (the “Committee”) released a new “discussion draft” of the Financial CHOICE Act, its comprehensive regulatory reform bill (“CHOICE Act 2.0”). The Committee released the first version of the bill (“CHOICE Act 1.0”) in June 2016.

February 3, 2017, Covington Alert

Throughout his campaign, President Donald Trump promised to curtail financial regulations, particularly those promulgated under the Dodd-Frank Act. President Trump argued frequently that the regulations issued under the act have proven overly burdensome and, among other things, limited job growth. This afternoon, the President took his first formal step in ...

January 19, 2017, Covington Alert

One of the most sweeping changes brought about by the Dodd-Frank Act was the introduction of a new regulatory framework for swaps trading. In 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) finalized its rules on swap execution facilities (“SEFs”) and swaps trading on SEFs. Less than four years after these rules were finalized, the change in Presidential ...

November 30, 2016, Covington Alert

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is set to begin its trial of Donald R. Wilson and his proprietary trading firm, DRW Investments, LLC (“DRW”) on December 1, 2016. In advance of this trial, this alert provides the legal theory that will be tested during this trial and other observations related to the CFTC’s pursuit of attempted manipulation.

November 14, 2016, Covington Alert

On November 8, 2016, American voters elected Republican Donald J. Trump as President. In addition, Republicans maintained control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. As the campaign rhetoric fades into the background over the coming weeks and months, the business of transitioning to a new administration will begin in earnest. The results of the ...

October 12, 2016, Covington Alert

Insider trading is a familiar term to participants in the equities markets; however, this term now has application in the swaps, futures, and commodities markets regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In a time of aggressive enforcement, financial market participants should be aware that insider trading is a high priority for the CFTC ...

March 2015, Energy Bar Association, Enforcers and Defenders Forum

January 2014 and January 2015, National Defense University, Eisenhower School, Strategic Leadership Department Financial Services Industry Studies Student & Faculty

September 2014, Network of Trial Law Firms, Financial Services Super Course

December 2013, Interagency Bank Fraud Enforcement Working Group, 29th Anniversary Meeting