SDNY Ruling Highlights Fed's Broad Master Account Power

Having a master account with a Federal Reserve bank is critical to any bank operating in the U.S. financial system.

In this piece for Law360, Ballard Spahr's Peter Hardy, Ronald Vaske, and Siana Danch examine a recent complicated order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Banco San Juan Internacional Inc. v. Federal Reserve Bank of New York that exemplifies just how much discretion the Federal Reserve banks can have over such accounts, and how access to a master account can turn upon regulators' perceptions of alleged anti-money laundering failures.

Read the full article here.