To assist legal and compliance officers of financial institutions, this memorandum summarizes key recent developments in criminal prosecutions and regulatory enforcement actions involving financial institutions during November and December 2019.

Among the significant matters and trends:

  • The last two months saw substantial activity on the insider trading front, and of note the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in United States v. Blaszczak that the government need not satisfy the “personal-benefit” test for insider trading when proceeding under a Title 18 theory. 
  • There was additional enforcement activity relating to “spoofing,” including a record-setting fine by the CFTC and DOJ. 
  • DOJ also had success using a deferred prosecution agreement to recover a considerable penalty from a major financial institution in the “Swiss tax” related matter.
  • DOJ suffered a setback in its loss at trial in a heavily-watched loan fraud case.

If you have any questions regarding the matters covered in this publication, please reach out to any of the lawyers listed below or your usual Davis Polk contact.

This communication, which we believe may be of interest to our clients and friends of the firm, is for general information only. It is not a full analysis of the matters presented and should not be relied upon as legal advice. This may be considered attorney advertising in some jurisdictions. Please refer to the firm's privacy notice for further details.

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