Custody of customer assets
In Trade and Geopolitical Risk, custody of customer assets sits at the intersection of sanctions compliance, cross-border transfer restrictions, and broker-dealer obligations enforced by regulators including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the European Securities and Markets Authority. Firms operating across jurisdictions are actively auditing their custodial arrangements against ESMA's 2022 guidelines on delegation and third-party custody chains, while the SEC's customer protection rule under Rule 15c3-3 continues to draw scrutiny when trade-finance exposures complicate the definition of a 'possession or control' obligation. Sanctions-related asset freezes tied to geopolitical events have forced compliance teams to revisit whether custodial agreements with foreign sub-custodians survive an OFAC designation overnight.
Watch
- SEC Rule 15c3-3 interpretations where trade-finance assets blur possession-or-control lines
- ESMA third-party custody delegation guidelines and pending member-state implementation gaps
- OFAC General License carve-outs affecting frozen asset custody obligations in sanctioned jurisdictions
- CFTC proposed amendments to Part 190 bankruptcy rules for customer segregated accounts
- Cross-border asset repatriation orders issued under new EU foreign subsidies enforcement actions
Recent material activity in Trade & Geopolitical Risk
A selection of recent published briefs; this is not a complete archive.
OFAC adds entities to Non-SDN Menu-Based Sanctions List under PAIPA with blocking and financial prohibitions
OFAC added entities to its Non-SDN Menu-Based Sanctions List on October 19, 2026 under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act of 2022. The designations impose blocking, lending, foreign exchange, and banking t…
Read a full sample brief →DGFT amends trade procedures to activate TRQ allocation mechanism under the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued Public Notice No. 33/2026-27 on October 17, 2026, amending the Handbook of Procedures, 2023 to incorporate tariff-rate quota (TRQ) procedures under the India-New…
Read a full sample brief →India's Ministry of Finance issues first-tranche tariff concessions under the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement
India's Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, issued Notification 32/2026-Customs on October 16, 2026, granting customs duty exemptions on goods imported from New Zealand. The notification gives effect to the first…
Read a full sample brief →China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology propose expanded technology export controls covering AI, biomedical, and energy storage sectors
China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology issued Announcement No. 48 of 2026 on October 16, 2026, opening a public consultation on proposed amendments to the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited…
Read a full sample brief →CBP releases Harmonized System Update 2625 with Section 232 pharmaceutical tariff records and CPSC flagging changes
CBP issued Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2625 on September 29, 2026, containing 57 harmonized tariff records and 304 Automated Broker Interface records. The update incorporates Section 232 pharmaceutical tariff changes,…
Read a full sample brief →Canada's trade tribunal finds reasonable indication of injury from Chinese paperboard cups and containers dumping
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) issued a determination on October 16, 2026, under preliminary injury inquiry PI-2026-004, finding a reasonable indication that dumping and subsidizing of paperboard cups a…
Read a full sample brief →Commerce issues final affirmative countervailing duty determination on high purity dissolving pulp from Brazil
The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a final affirmative countervailing duty determination on October 16, 2026, covering producers and exporters of high purity dissolving pulp from Brazil. The determination finds that …
Read a full sample brief →Commerce issues final affirmative LTFV determination for high purity dissolving pulp from Brazil
Commerce issued a final affirmative determination on October 16, 2026, finding that high purity dissolving pulp from Brazil is being sold, or is likely to be sold, in the United States at less than fair value. The period…
Read a full sample brief →Commerce issues final affirmative antidumping determination on high purity dissolving pulp from Norway
The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a final affirmative determination on October 16, 2026, finding that high-purity dissolving pulp from Norway is being sold, or is likely to be sold, in the United States at less than…
Read a full sample brief →USITC declines to review ALJ order adding dependent patent claims to GlobalFoundries semiconductor investigation
The USITC has declined to review an initial determination that allows GlobalFoundries U.S. Inc. to amend its complaint in an active Section 337 investigation. The amendment adds dependent claims 8 through 12 and 19 of U.…
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