In his remarks at the LendIt Conference in New York, Comptroller of the Currency Tom Curry discussed the special purpose national bank charters to be granted by the OCC to fintech companies and addressed the various questions, criticism and challenges that have been made since the OCC's fintech charter announcement (click here to read Orrick's previous client alert regarding this announcement). OCC Authority In response to comments challenging the OCC authority and the wisdom of issuing such charters, Curry said, in...

Addition Brings BDO Wealth’s Assets Under Management to $700 Million   Chicago, IL – BDO USA, LLP, one of the nation’s leading accounting and consulting firms, today announced an expansion of its Wealth Advisory Practice through the addition of LBA Wealth Management, LLC in Jacksonville, Florida.  The practice, a fee-only investment advisory firm encompassing seven professionals with $350 million in assets under management, was recently ranked among the top CPA firms by assets under management by Accounting Today.  This announcement follows...

  Global expansion, expatriation and international employees all add diversity to the organization and expands the opportunities for the company and the employees. International expansion is linked to ambitious visions and high expectations. Optimism is at its fullest, but once the key employees are in place, success rests highly on their shoulders. Both on the short and on the long term it is vital for the company to focus on enabling and securing performance and growth for these key employees.   The...

On March 6, 2017, President Trump signed a revised Executive Order, Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States, that suspends admission to the United States for certain foreign nationals from the following six designated countries for 90 days: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Iraq is no longer included in the list of designated countries as it had been in the original executive order (EO). The 90-day period of suspension may be extended, and...

On March 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unexpectedly announced that it will temporarily suspend its premium processing service for all H-1B petitions received on or after April 3, 2017. The premium processing program allows a petitioner to receive a decision on its case within 15 calendar days upon payment of an additional government filing fee to USCIS. Because the April 3, 2017 start date for the suspension is also the first filing day for quota-subject petitions (generally...

Convenience stores (c-stores) have expanded their food service offerings with an eye towards boosting profitability. In doing so, they are going head-to-head with traditional restaurant players and find themselves dealing with trends such as increased operating costs, fuel price volatility, and technology innovations. Findings from AlixPartners’ 2016 North American convenience store consumer study point to the need for c-stores to master four imperatives to succeed in this space and sharpen their competitive edge. Read the full article here Compliments of AlixPartners -...

The FX market continues to wait for more detail on Trump’s economic proposals, which may well be outlined more clearly by the end of the month.  There was no significant new detail supplied in his February 28th speech to Congress. Regardless of the timing of the Trump proposals, March will have an important Fed meeting and potentially impactful European political developments, discussed in more detail below.The USD was little changed in February as the market awaited news from Trump,...

I’m often asked how to determine cultural fit during an interview. My answer partially depends on how you define culture. If you want to determine whether a candidate will be successful in your physical work environment, you can ask a candidate to describe the work environment or culture in which he believes he’s the most productive. If you want to determine whether s/he will fit in with a particular team or work well with a certain manager, you can...