Updates & Events

On August 26, 2020, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed Emergency Executive Order 20-86, providing relief to Minnesota cooperatives.

On May 20, 2020, following much industry debate and speculation, the OCC released its final rule on CRA in an effort to modernize, strengthen, and establish more objectivity with respect to CRA regulations.

Despite the impact of COVID-19, it is safe to assume that LIBOR will still become unusable by the end of 2021. In preparation for the transition, the ARRC has published its recommended best practices to prepare for the anticipated discontinuation of LIBOR.

The pandemic-induced economic downturn has created huge stresses on owners of both residential and commercial real property. In turn, those stresses have been visited upon the lenders who have financed those properties.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently accepted a proposal by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. to revise its tariff to allow for storage facilities to be classified as transmission-only assets in the MISO Transmission Expansion Plan and receive cost recovery under the MISO tariff on the same basis as other MTEP projects.

On August 26, 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to the definition of “accredited investor” in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D, expanding the pool of investors who may participate in private securities offerings.

On August 26, 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to modernize the description of business (Item 101), legal proceedings (Item 103) and risk factor disclosures (Item 105) that registrants are required to make pursuant to Regulation S-K.

On July 22, 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to the rules governing proxy solicitations.

The upcoming presidential election could effectively transfer control of the SEC to the Democratic party, meaning that views currently held by a minority of the SEC’s five Commissioners could soon gain majority status. Statements issued by Democratic Commissioners Allison Herren Lee and Caroline Crenshaw dissenting against recent SEC rule amendments offer a glimpse into the potential priorities of a Democratic-led SEC.

On August 28, 2020, the SEC adopted temporary final rules extending the effectiveness of previously-adopted temporary relief from certain requirements of Regulation Crowdfunding to facilitate capital formation for small businesses impacted by COVID-19.