Christopher DeCresce

July 27, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted several proxy rule amendments dealing with proxy advisory firms as part of its ongoing effort to modernize the proxy voting system. The proxy rule amendments, which were proposed in November 2019, codify the SEC’s view that proxy voting advice generally constitutes a solicitation under the ...

July 20, 2020, Covington Alert

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present public companies with new regulatory compliance and financial reporting challenges. Adjusting the presentation of GAAP financial measures to take into account COVID-19-related expenses is one such challenge and should be considered carefully in light of the SEC’s heightened scrutiny in this area. The SEC’s Division of ...

July 9, 2020, Covington Alert

The second quarter of 2020 is the first period in which most U.S. public companies were fully confronted with challenges presented by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The SEC and its staff (the “Staff”) have recently issued a number of statements regarding disclosure considerations and updates to reporting relief that will affect various aspects of companies’ ...

June 11, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 20, 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to requirements for financial disclosures about acquired and disposed businesses. These rules have remained largely static for several decades, even as many other SEC rules and forms have undergone significant revisions in that time period. The amendments are intended to reduce the complexity and costs associated with ...

June 3, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 27, 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston ("FRBB") posted a number of documents that provide important additional details about its Main Street Lending Program ("MSLP"), including updated FAQs, new required agreements and forms, and new lender and borrower guides. The following summary highlights key FAQ changes and summarizes each of the new MSLP ...

June 2, 2020, Covington Alert

Increased attention has recently been given by both investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promoting clear and comparable disclosures of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. On May 21, the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee (Committee) debated and endorsed recommendations of the Investor as Owner Subcommittee that the SEC ...

May 14, 2020, Covington Alert

The SEC and its staff continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing public companies and other filers with relief from certain reporting requirements, as well as rule amendments. Recently, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) issued several frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) relating to the SEC’s March 25, 2020 Order that ...

May 7, 2020, Covington Alert

In response to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, Nasdaq has adopted temporary relief through June 30, 2020 from shareholder approval requirements pertaining to the so-called “20% rule.” The relief is effective immediately and intended to give Nasdaq-listed companies additional flexibility to raise capital through private placements in situations where ...

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 2020, Covington Alert

This is a playbook for a virtual meeting of shareholders of a public company, with a particular focus on the unique situation facing companies due to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It includes answers to questions that companies may have in deciding upon and planning for such a meeting.

April 16, 2020, Covington Alert

The leading proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass, Lewis & Co., recently published their approaches on key governance topics facing public companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, both firms seek to balance flexibility in responding to current circumstances against established corporate governance policies.

April 9, 2020, Covington Alert

The SEC and its staff have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing public companies and other filers affected by the pandemic with relief from certain reporting requirements, as well as helpful disclosure guidance.

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, Covington Alert

Boards of directors, compensation committees and executive officers have begun to confront the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their compensation programs. This alert highlights key considerations for public companies as they make important decisions regarding these programs.

April 2, 2020, Covington Alert

When an executive officer or director becomes seriously ill, including due to COVID-19, U.S. public companies and foreign private issuers must consider their disclosure obligations as well as governance and other key topics. This alert discusses these considerations.

March 27, 2020, Covington Alert

The SEC has provided additional relief for public companies and other filers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance (the "Division") has issued disclosure guidance regarding COVID-19 and related business and market disruptions Disclosure Guidance Topic No. 9 (the "Disclosure Topic 9"). This alert discusses the key ...

March 27, 2020, Covington Alert

While Board duties remain unchanged in a crisis situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of a board of directors continues to be one of oversight, the disruption and dislocation resulting from the pandemic warrants greater and more frequent coordination between boards of directors and management teams which have responsibility for day-to-day ...

March 26, 2020, Covington Alert

Companies incorporated in the United States are required to hold annual shareholder meetings. These meetings have traditionally been held at a physical location, sometimes with the option to participate remotely. In recent years, however, some public companies have adopted virtual-only annual shareholder meetings. Due to growing concerns around the global ...

March 25, 2020, Covington Alert

The U.S. Congress appears close to finalizing the scale and scope of stimulus legislation to address the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although its final shape remains uncertain, it is highly likely to provide for one or more lending programs, loan guaranty programs, and other financing programs administered by the federal government to direct ...

March 25, 2020, Covington Alert

The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences have spurred a tremendous amount of market volatility, and many public companies can expect questions from shareholders and analysts regarding the effect of these factors on companies’ current and future operations and liquidity. The uncertainty of the pandemic’s duration and impact on the economy may lead some ...

March 20, 2020, Covington Alert

January 28, 2020, Covington Alert

Critical audit matters, or “CAMs,” have been an important topic of discussion among investors, auditors, public companies and audit committees since the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) adopted Auditing Standard 3101 (“AS 3101”) on June 1, 2017.

September 27, 2019, Covington Alert

On September 26, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced the adoption of new Rule 163B under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), which expands the permitted use of “test-the-waters” communications to all issuers, regardless of size or reporting status. The new rule, which the SEC proposed in February 2019, represents a ...

August 27, 2019, Covington Alert

On August 20, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) approved a final rule (the “final rule”)1 that will significantly revise existing regulations implementing the Volcker Rule – a statutory provision that generally prohibits banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading or taking an ownership interest in, ...

May 8, 2019, Covington Alert

April 30, 2019, Covington Alert

For the better part of this decade, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has been assessing and soliciting input on, and proposing and adopting changes to, the public company disclosure regime. A principal goal of this exercise has been to improve the quality of disclosure while reducing compliance costs and other burdens on public companies. ...

February 25, 2019, Covington Alert

On February 19, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed a new rule under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) that would expand issuers’ ability to gauge potential investor interest in registered securities offerings.

January 31, 2019, Cov Financial Services

Innovation in financial services continues to move at a rapid pace. The significant increase in the number of fintech companies in recent years has highlighted a burgeoning market with significant economic potential, and a commercial need to create efficiencies and modernize the provision of financial products and services. Federal and state financial services ...

December 1, 2018, Practical Law

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview on fintech regulation in the United States as part of a global fintech guide published by Thomson Reuters. Reproduced from Practical Law with the permission of the publishers. For further information, visit www.practicallaw.com.

September 5, 2018, Covington Alert

This client alert summarizes recent regulatory developments relating to fintech and discusses the implications of these developments.

August 8, 2018

WASHINGTON—Covington advised Wilmington, Delaware-based WSFS Financial Corporation in its acquisition of Philadelphia-based Beneficial Bancorp, Inc., in a transaction valued at approximately $1.5 billion. This is the second bank M&A deal in two weeks where Covington is representing the acquiring institution. Covington is also representing Dallas-based Veritex ...

January 30, 2018, Law360

Law360 highlights the promotion of Covington's newest partners, including John Balzano, Lindsay Burke, Bradley Chernin, Christopher DeCresce, Guy Dingley, Matthew Dunn, Laura Flahive Wu, Pamela Forrest, Alexa Hansen, Megan Keane, Sam Pyun, Kyle Rabe, Ansgar Simon, Andrew Soukup, Emily Ullman, and Mark Young.

November 14, 2017

WASHINGTON—Covington advised the underwriters in the $100 million initial public offering of Merchants Bancorp. Merchants Bancorp is a diversified bank holding company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. Merchants currently operates multiple lines of business with a focus on Federal Housing Administration multi-family housing and healthcare facility financing and ...

October 2, 2017

WASHINGTON—Covington has promoted 16 lawyers to its partnership. “It’s a great tribute to the firm’s vibrancy that we’re continuing to build an exceptional pipeline of new partners from within our ranks,” said Timothy Hester, Covington’s chair. “We’re confident that all 16 will add importantly to the firm’s strengths and will drive further expansion of core ...

August 30, 2017

NEW YORK—Covington advised Howard Bancorp, Inc., the bank holding company for Howard Bank, in its acquisition of First Mariner Bank, a community bank headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The transaction value is approximately $163.4 million. The Covington team consisted of Michael Reed, Rusty Conner, Chris DeCresce, Matt Wood, and Nora Diamond-Jones(corporate); ...

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 ...

June 3, 2016

NEW YORK—Covington advised Beltone Financial Holding, a leading Egyptian investment bank, in its acquisition of 51 percent of Auerbach Grayson & Company, a New York brokerage firm specializing in global trade execution and research on developed, frontier, and emerging markets for U.S. institutional investors. This acquisition marks Beltone Financial’s entry into ...

May 13, 2016, American Banker

Christopher DeCresce is quoted in this American Banker article exploring whether more fintech companies will seek bank charters. According to DeCresce, one sector in fintech that may soon be forced to look at the option is marketplace lenders. "They have to register in every state they want to do business in, and that can be a cumbersome process," he says. "A ...

April 6, 2015

NEW YORK, April 6, 2015 — Christopher DeCresce has joined Covington’s corporate practice in the firm’s New York office. Mr. DeCresce will focus on securities and capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, governance, and securities law reporting and compliance, primarily focused on financial services companies. “Chris has a proven track record ...