In September 2020, SWIFT (a global member-owned cooperative and provider of secure financial messaging services) published a report to support market participants in understanding the money laundering techniques which underpin large-scale cyber-attacks. The report sets out the end-to-end journey commonly used by criminals to launder funds obtained through illicit cyber-crime related activities, and focusses on … Continue Reading
On 21 August 2020, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a speech by Benoît Cœuré, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, which focussed on the main challenges to the development of reg tech and sup tech in the financial services sector. Cœuré begins by describing the differences between reg and sup tech – namely … Continue Reading
Every month we provide the Global Blockchain Business Council’s Post-Trade Distributed Ledger group with a global regulatory FinTech updater, the latest version of which can be found here. Post Trade Distributed Ledger (PTDL) Group is composed of over 40 prominent market infrastructure stakeholders whose shared vision of the use of distributed ledger technology has brought … Continue Reading
Every month we provide the Global Blockchain Business Council’s Post-Trade Distributed Ledger group with a global regulatory FinTech updater, the latest version of which can be found here. Post Trade Distributed Ledger (PTDL) Group is composed of over 40 prominent market infrastructure stakeholders whose shared vision of the use of distributed ledger technology has brought … Continue Reading
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has published a circular setting out key observations and good practices relating to anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-financing of terrorism (CFT) control measures applicable to remote customer on-boarding initiatives. The feedback is based on recent thematic reviews, engagement with authorized institutions (AIs) and technology firms in the Fintech Supervisory … Continue Reading
Every month we provide the Global Blockchain Business Council’s Post-Trade Distributed Ledger group with a global regulatory FinTech updater, the latest version of which can be found here. Post Trade Distributed Ledger (PTDL) Group is composed of over 40 prominent market infrastructure stakeholders whose shared vision of the use of distributed ledger technology has brought … Continue Reading
Every month we provide the Global Blockchain Business Council’s Post-Trade Distributed Ledger group with a global regulatory FinTech updater, the latest version of which can be found here. Post Trade Distributed Ledger (PTDL) Group is composed of over 40 prominent market infrastructure stakeholders whose shared vision of the use of distributed ledger technology has brought … Continue Reading
In response to the increasing prevalence of algorithmic trading (algo-trading) in the banking industry (e.g. for executing trade orders and market making for foreign exchange-related transactions), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (the HKMA) has issued a circular setting out its supervisory expectations with regard to risk management practices for algo-trading activities which authorized institutions (AIs) … Continue Reading
Every month we provide the Global Blockchain Business Council’s Post-Trade Distributed Ledger group with a global regulatory FinTech updater, the latest version of which can be found here. Post Trade Distributed Ledger (PTDL) Group is composed of over 40 prominent market infrastructure stakeholders whose shared vision of the use of distributed ledger technology has brought them … Continue Reading
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently issued a consultation paper setting out its proposed regulatory approach for derivatives contracts that reference payment tokens as underlying assets (Payment Token Derivatives). What is this approach meant to address? A well-regulated market for derivatives – particularly one anchored by institutional investors with sophisticated risk management and investment … Continue Reading
Partners from our global FinTech team flew in from Hong Kong, Vancouver, London, Dallas, Johannesburg and Melbourne to join our Singapore team at the SFF 2019 (Singapore FinTech Festival) 11-13 November. The SFF is the world’s largest annual FinTech conference, bringing together over 45,000 FinTech enthusiasts to explore, collaborate and discuss the future of FinTech. … Continue Reading
At the Hong Kong Fintech week, the Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Mr Ashley Alder, announced the rollout of a new regulatory framework for virtual asset trading platforms. The regulation of virtual asset trading platforms (and whether they should fall within the SFC’s regulatory oversight) has been a key regulatory … Continue Reading
The Singapore International Commercial Court has published its first cryptocurrency judgment. In this briefing note we discuss the key novel points arising from the case (B2C2 Ltd v Quoine Pte Ltd [2019] SGHC(l) 3) and consider the implications for digital assets, smart contracts and artificial intelligence.… Continue Reading
Partners from our global FinTech team flew in from Hong Kong, Vancouver, London and Dallas to join our New York team to attend Consensus and Blockchain week in NYC (13-15 May). Consensus is an annual global conference which brings together the world’s most innovative minds to explore and debate the future of blockchain and crypto. … Continue Reading
On 28 March 2019, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published a statement reminding parties who engage in security token offerings (STOs) to be aware of the applicable legal and regulatory requirements. This statement is helpful given that STOs are a relatively new form of token issuance. STOs are specific offerings which are structured to … Continue Reading
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) have shone a light on the risks associated with crypto-assets in a statement issued on 13 March 2019, calling on banks who acquire exposures to crypto-assets to take appropriate and specific measures to mitigate such risks. The BCBS is the primary global standard setter for the prudential regulation … Continue Reading
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has recently (18 July 2018) released its final Open API Framework. The formulation of the Open API Framework is one of the seven initiatives announced by the HKMA in September 2017 to facilitate the move into a new era of Smart Banking. The framework sets out a phased approach to … Continue Reading
‘Best Practices for Digital Asset Exchanges’ is a first-of its kind report released by ASIFMA, the region’s leading trade association for the financial industry. The report aims to guide digital exchanges towards international best practices and highlights key areas for consideration, including the listing processes, market abuse issues, regulatory considerations, cybersecurity and engagement with external … Continue Reading
Following a public consultation, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a revised Guideline on Authorization of Virtual Banks (the Guideline) on 30 May 2018. The Guideline supersedes the previous guideline issued in 2000 (and updated in 2012). Our blog entry dated 4 March 2018 which provides details of the public consultation can be found … Continue Reading
An investigation by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has led to the halt and unwinding of an initial coin offering (ICO) by Black Cell Technology Limited (Black Cell) to the Hong Kong public on the basis that Black Cell potentially engaged in unauthorized promotional and unlicensed regulated activities. Black Cell promoted the token … Continue Reading
On 29 September 2017, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced a range of initiatives aimed at preparing Hong Kong for a new era of smarter banking driven by technological advances. The HKMA press releases were announced on the same day as, and supplement, announcements by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Insurance … Continue Reading
On 29 September 2017, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular announcing the launch of the SFC Regulatory Sandbox (the Sandbox) which aims to regulate qualified firms conducting regulated activities under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) in the financial technologies (Fintech) sphere. The circular was issued in tandem with announcements by the … Continue Reading
To promote the development of Insurtech in Hong Kong, the Insurance Authority (IA) launched two initiatives on 29 September 2017, “Insurtech Sandbox” and “Fast Track”. Insurtech Sandbox Insurtech Sandbox aims to facilitate a pilot run of innovative Insurtech applications by authorized insurers in their business operations. Insurtech Sandbox allows authorized insurers to experiment with new … Continue Reading
On 14 September 2017, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SCM) signed a co-operation agreement to collaborate on the promotion of financial innovation in Hong Kong and Malaysia The co-operation agreement sets out a framework for collaboration between the SFC and the SCM and covers matters such as referrals, information … Continue Reading
