Most firms have been scrambling over the past two months to establish working guidelines. Some are putting that “spare time” to good use. Read the PDF or visit the blog at https://bit.ly/3ytexZt

1. Everyone unilaterally agrees that COVID-19 represents an unprecedented period
in history. Never before has every country been simultaneously and fully
disabled. Governments and other regulatory authorities have been caught
equally off-guard as the constituents and institutions that they support and
empower.
The response from regulators has been quite muted: the output has primarily
been warnings and loose suggestions with formal guidelines and policies
lacking. For example, financial institutions have been warned to watch for the
potential threat of insider trading and other forms of market abuse.

2. Firms are utilizing their “spare time”
Firms are utilizing their “spare time”
Most firms have been scrambling over the
past two months to establish working
guidelines. Some are putting that “spare
time” to good use. Now that people are no
longer commuting to work, many employers
have asked their staff to use the additional
time to test outdated policies, revamp them
and create new ones better suited to meet
the contemporary needs of remote work.
Regulatory response to COVID-19
Regulatory response to COVID-19
Given how woefully ill-prepared the world was
for the onslaught of COVID-19, it would be
unfair to critique how regulators needed time to
issue their relaxed policies, timelines and
operational guidelines.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore was
among the first regulators to issue flexible
policies anchored in “best effort adjustments”
versus stringent and enforceable regulations.
If the threat of a global pandemic and the reality of a contagion infecting
millions of people and killing hundreds of thousands wasn’t great enough, key
economies around the globe have collapsed. Governments are infusing cash
into the economy to prevent depression. The US has infused more than $2
Trillion yet that may be insufficient to stimulate recovery if the stay-home
orders persist much longer.
The added pressure of an economic collapse
The added pressure of an economic collapse

3. Bad actors were bound to be discovered
Bad actors were bound to be discovered
Questionable behavior by some US Senators and public health officials has been
repeatedly cited as an example of this increased access to material information
and the proportionally increased risk for market abuse. Fingers quickly pointed
to US Senator Richard Burr who reportedly sold millions in stocks following a
confidential briefing on the looming threat of a pandemic that he and only a few
others were privy to. Based on the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge
Act of 2012, regulatory authorities have not yet made any formal charges but
Senator Burr along with others who have access to private briefings regarding
the pandemic are now under investigation.
Once the wait is over
Once the wait is over
Governments have relaxed their standards
in just about every aspect of regulation
and deadlines from drug development to
financial obligations in the wake of the
coronavirus as a response to it. The
general understanding is that institutions
were ill-prepared for a global pandemic:
to date, no organization has publicly
stated that they had the business
continuity plans needed to enable the
transition from a secure in-office
environment to a residential work-from-
home situation for all their personnel.
However, that doesn’t mean
that these regulatory
organizations aren’t watching
– it’s probable that they’re just
waiting to impose sanctions if
institutions remain out of
compliance for too long. Rest
assured that it will only be a
matter of time before all
regulatory requirements return
to strict adherence standards.