To all of our global readers we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We will resume posting material on the UK page following the festive period on 4 January 2021 although if there are any significant developments we will endeavour to provide an … Continue Reading
On 16 December 2020, the Financial Stability Board published its latest global monitoring report on non-bank financial intermediation. The report presents the results of the annual FSB monitoring exercise to assess global trends and risks in non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI), covering 29 jurisdictions that account for 80% of global GDP. The annual monitoring exercise focuses … Continue Reading
On 15 December 2020, the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) announced the following new members: US Federal Reserve System, Central Bank of Paraguay, Financial Regulatory Authority of Egypt, Financial Services Authority of Indonesia, Central Bank of Iceland, Polish Financial Supervision Authority, Central Bank of Uruguay and the European Securities and Markets Authority. The … Continue Reading
On 3 December 2020, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued a consultation report on market data in the secondary equity markets. The consultation report describes several issues relating to market data in equity markets and asks for industry views on both the issues and possible solutions. These issues include: What market data is … Continue Reading
We have updated our cross border comparative guide on individual accountability which is located on the NRF Institute. The comparative guide, Senior management responsibility in financial services, allows clients to better understand how senior management responsibility in different types of financial services firm other than insurers is being treated in different jurisdictions around the world. … Continue Reading
On 22 November 2020, the G20 leaders issued a declaration following their summit in Riyadh on 21 – 22 November 2020. Paragraphs 16 to 18 of the declaration cover financial sector issues. Key points include: The pandemic has reaffirmed the need to enhance global cross-border payment arrangements to facilitate cheaper, faster, more inclusive and more … Continue Reading
On 20 November 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a progress report on implementation of reforms to major interest rate benchmarks. Among other things the report notes: Production of LIBOR cannot be guaranteed after the end of 2021. The administrator of LIBOR, ICE Benchmark Administration, has recently announced that it will consult on its … Continue Reading
On 17 November 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a letter from its Chair and two reports delivered to G20 Leaders ahead of their summit this week: Chair’s letter. The letter sets out three responses to financial stability vulnerabilities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic: (i) coming to a shared diagnosis – the market turmoil … Continue Reading
On 13 November 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published its 2020 report on the implementation and effects of the G20 financial regulatory reforms. Key points in the report include: Greater resilience of major banks at the core of the financial system has allowed the system largely to absorb, rather than amplify, the macroeconomic shock … Continue Reading
On 9 November 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) issued a discussion paper on regulatory and supervisory issues relating to outsourcing and third-party relationships. The discussion paper is based on a survey that the FSB Standing Committee on Supervisory and Regulatory Cooperation (SRC) conducted among member jurisdictions on the existing regulatory and supervisory landscape relating … Continue Reading
The Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) issued a consultation paper on 3 November 2020 seeking comments on its proposal (the New Regs) to amend Hong Kong’s anti-money laundering legislation to bring exchanges that offer virtual assets (VAs) that are not securities within the regulatory remit of Hong Kong’s securities regulator, the Securities and Futures … Continue Reading
On 21 to 23 October 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held its final quarterly plenary of 2020 as a virtual event. The discussions over three days mostly focussed on Strategic Initiatives reacting to the Covid-19 pandemic and progress made on country specific processes. The FATF also provided an update on their strategic focus … Continue Reading
Introduction Whatever the legal form of a joint venture, the collaboration and joint participation in the JV’s business objectives can present an enhanced corruption risk. This is because in some circumstances, a company entering into a JV could be criminally liable for the corrupt actions of its JV partner, the JV itself, or third parties … Continue Reading
We have further updated our popular client briefing note ‘Doing business in the EU’ covering the temporary transitional relief measures EU27 Member States are implementing, if any, for the period after the transition period should the UK/EU not enter into a free trade agreement. For a copy of the updated briefing note please contact Simon … Continue Reading
Financial institutions have had to deal with two challenges in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first challenge is financial – how to address and mitigate the sharp drop in the value of financial assets or loss of liquidity. The second challenge is operational – how to address the risk of failure of resources … Continue Reading
On 14 October 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a report providing an update on its ongoing work concerning market fragmentation. The report describes progress in the four areas identified in the June 2019 FSB Report on Market Fragmentation: (i) deference; (ii) pre-positioning of capital and liquidity; (iii) regulatory and supervisory coordination and information-sharing; … Continue Reading
On 7 October 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published their Fifth Progress Report – Countdown to 2021 in light of COVID-19 on the implementation of the second phase of the G20 Data Gaps Initiative (DGI-2). In October 2009, the FSB and IMF published ‘The Financial Crisis and Information … Continue Reading
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has launched a three-month consultation on proposals to amend its anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) guidelines for licensed corporations (LCs) and associated entities (AEs).[1] The proposed amendments aim to align the AML/CTF guidelines with the Guidance for a Risk-based Approach for the Securities Sector (RBA Guidance) issued … Continue Reading
On 21 September 2020, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a final report containing guidance on potential conflicts of interest and associated conduct risks market intermediaries may face during the debt capital raising process. The guidance is in the form of nine measures. Each measure is designed to address one or more of … Continue Reading
During the summer, the United States Justice Department announced the latest set of updates to its “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” policy. The policy, which was first released in 2017 and revised last year, provides companies with detailed guidance on how the Department will review the adequacy and effectiveness of compliance programs when making charging … Continue Reading
On 4 September 2020, the Insurance Authority (IA) launched a six-week consultation on the proposed Insurance (Special Purpose Business) Rules (SPB Rules). The consultation ties in with the introduction of the new regulatory regime for the issuance of insurance-linked securities (ILS) which is expected to come into operation in 2021. The SPB rules will be added … Continue Reading
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has published FAQs to provide additional guidance on the licensing obligations of single family offices and multi-family offices under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO). The FAQs follow the SFC’s circular issued on 7 January 2020 relating to the licensing obligations of family offices which conduct business in Hong … Continue Reading
On 7 September 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) issued a press release stating that it has decided to delay by one year the implementation dates for its policy recommendations relating to minimum haircut standards for non-centrally cleared securities financing transactions. In August 2013 the FSB developed policy recommendations to address financial stability risks that … Continue Reading
The Insurance Authority has issued a circular today extending Phase 2 of the temporary facilitative measures (TFMs), introduced in March 2020, by another three months (i.e. to 31 December 2020) in light of the current COVID-19 situation. The Phase 2 TFMs permit insurers and intermediaries to use non-face-to-face distribution methods for selling certain insurance products … Continue Reading
