Compliance & Ethics

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has reached a settlement with LA Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the United States, over potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Rules. This settlement underscores the critical importance of safeguarding protected health information (PHI) and adhering to HIPAA regulations.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has voiced strong criticism of a recent U.S. proposal that calls for banks to increase their capital buffers. In his remarks, Dimon referred to the proposal as "hugely disappointing" and expressed concerns about its potential impact on the U.S. economy.

Christy Goldsmith Romero, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has proposed the creation of a federal registry designed to streamline access to information related to past financial fraud convictions and civil fines.

France's financial regulatory authority, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), has announced fines against holding company Rallye and its Chief Executive Officer Franck Hattab for market manipulation. This decision comes as a response to alleged misconduct related to the dissemination of false or misleading information regarding Rallye's financial position.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken action against nine investment advisory firms, imposing a collective $850,000 in civil penalties for marketing rule violations. The SEC's enforcement centers around the firms' promotion of hypothetical performance data without implementing the necessary policies mandated by regulators. These actions were found to be in breach of a 2020 rule designed to restrict advisers from showcasing hypothetical performance to investors unless specific policies were in place to ensure its relevance to the intended audience, among other requirements.

Caroline Pham, a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has proposed the creation of a time-limited pilot program aimed at regulating cryptocurrencies and supporting the development of compliant digital asset markets and tokenization in the United States. Pham, who holds one of the Republican seats on the five-person commission, made these recommendations during a Cato Institute event.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has publicly admitted to shortcomings in its oversight of First Republic Bank, the regional lender that collapsed and was subsequently acquired by JPMorgan Chase in May. In a comprehensive 62-page review, the regulator conceded that its supervisors could have taken more proactive measures to address factors that left First Republic vulnerable to severe contagion effects, such as its high level of uninsured deposits and exposure to rising interest rates.