Australia

Basel Committee approves annual G-SIBs assessment, updates workplan to evaluate post-crisis reforms

On 25 September 2020, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel Committee) issued a press statement following its meeting on 14, 18 and 25 September 2020 to take stock of COVID-19 risks to the global banking system and related vulnerabilities. Key points in the press statement include: The Basel Committee reiterates its previous guidance that … Continue Reading

IOSCO issues measures to reduce conflict of interests in debt capital raising

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

FATF report – virtual assets red flag indicators of money laundering and terrorist financing

By Clarinda Grundy on September 15, 2020 Posted in Africa, Anti-money laundering, Anti-money laundering, Anti-Money Laundering, Asia, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Money laundering, Money laundering, Money laundering, Money laundering, Money laundering, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States

On 14 September 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a report, Virtual Assets – Red Flag Indicators of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. The report is based on more than 100 case studies and is designed to help national authorities and financial institutions identify potential money laundering and terrorist financing activity involving virtual … Continue Reading

New US DOJ guidance on corporate compliance programs emphasizes dynamic program design and implementation

By Keith Rosen (US), Carlos F. Ortiz and Kevin Harnisch (US) on September 14, 2020 Posted in Asia, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Regulation and compliance, Regulation and compliance, Regulation and Compliance, Regulation and compliance, Regulation and compliance, Regulatory Compliance, The Netherlands, United Kingdom

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

ESG Compass for the Disclosure Regulation

By Caroline Herkströter on September 14, 2020 Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, ESG, ESG, ESG, ESG, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

The new European Disclosure Regulation provides the central schedule of obligations for ESG-related disclosures in the EU financial services sector. Many of the disclosure requirements start to apply from 10 March 2021 and therefore all financial market participants and financial advisors need to start considering the content of the requirements in order to address the … Continue Reading

Regulatory framework for haircuts on non-centrally cleared securities financing transactions – FSB extends implementation deadlines

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

SWIFT publishes “Follow the Money” report to aid comprehension of money laundering risks underpinning large-scale cyber-heists

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

NGFS publishes its 2020-2022 work program and announces changes in the governance

By Daniel Nevzat (UK) on September 4, 2020 Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, ESG, ESG, ESG, ESG, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

On 3 September 2020, the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) announced its 2020 – 2022 work program that will include continuing its work on climate scenario analysis and scaling up green finance. The NGFS will also create two new work streams focussing on addressing data gaps and research. The NGFS, launched at the … Continue Reading

Financial services monthly wrap-up: August 2020

By Ray Giblett (AU), Jon Ireland, Stephen Putnins and Anjelica Balis on September 3, 2020 Posted in ASIC, Asset Management, Australia, Coronavirus, Funds management, Investigations, Regulators, Regulatory Compliance

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to provide uncertainty and challenges for all industry sectors, the funds and financial industry has remained in the spotlight for August 2020. In particular, ASIC has reminded responsible entities of their requirements with respect to valuing managed fund assets and APRA has assessed the management of superannuation fund liquidity due … Continue Reading

BIS publishes speech on reg tech and sup tech

By Arup Sen and Albert Weatherill (UK) on August 24, 2020 Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Fintech, Fintech, Fintech, Fintech, FinTech, Fintech, Fintech, Fintech, Fintech, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States

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

Brexit: Where have we got to and what should you do now?

Webinar on 2 September 2020 at 8:45am to 10:00am (BST) We are evolving our successful 40 minute briefings into webinars for financial services professionals. This includes senior management and those in legal, compliance and risk teams who have or are developing financial services expertise. The webinars will be led by senior members of our financial … Continue Reading

FSB questionnaire on continuity of access to FMIs for firms in resolution

By Hannah Meakin (UK) on August 17, 2020 Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Clearing and settlement, Clearing and settlement, Clearing and settlement, Clearing and settlement, Clearing and settlement, Clearing and Settlement, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

On 14 August 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a common template for gathering information about continuity of access to financial market infrastructures (FMIs) for firms in resolution. The template takes the form of a questionnaire that all FMIs are encouraged to complete. The questionnaire covers: general information on the FMI and its legal … Continue Reading

Publication of Wolfsberg Group statement on developing an effective AML/CTF programme

By Clarinda Grundy on August 13, 2020 Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Money laundering, Money laundering, Money laundering, Money laundering, Money laundering, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

On 12 August 2020, the Wolfsberg Group published its statement on developing an effective anti-money laundering (AML) / counter-terrorism financing (CTF) programme. In December 2019, the Wolfsberg Group published a statement on effectiveness which encourages jurisdictions to adopt the Financial Action Task Force’s focus on effective outcomes. As part of that statement, the Wolfsberg Group … Continue Reading

IOSCO report on liquidity provision in the secondary markets for equity securities

On 11 August 2020, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a report, Liquidity provision in the secondary markets for equity securities. The report identifies some of the key elements of market making programs that may help promote the provision of liquidity, strengthen investor confidence and foster fair and efficient markets. The report focuses … Continue Reading

Wolsfsberg Group publishes new AML guidance to support source of wealth and source of funds due diligence

By Clarinda Grundy on August 10, 2020 Posted in Asia, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Money laundering, Money laundering, Money laundering, Money laundering, Money laundering, Money laundering, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States

On 7 August 2020, the Wolfsberg Group, published new guidance targeted at private banking and wealth management divisions within financial institutions (FIs) to support the undertaking of source of wealth (SoW) and source of funds (SoF) checks. Based on the principles of the application of a risk-based approach (RBA), different customers will require a different … Continue Reading

Basel Committee releases consultative documents on Principles for operational risk and operational resilience

On 6 August 2020, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel Committee) published a consultative document seeking comments on proposed Principles for operational resilience. Given the natural relationship between operational resilience and operational risk, the Basel Committee is also proposing to update its Principles for the sound management of operational risk (PSMOR). The Basel Committee … Continue Reading

Global Asset Management Quarterly – 15th edition now available online

By Simon Lovegrove (UK), Richard Sheen (UK) and Imogen Garner (UK) on August 7, 2020 Posted in Africa, Asia, Asset management, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

The latest issue of Global Asset Management Quarterly is now available here. This issue contains the following articles: Europe • European update • EU/UK regulatory roundup United Kingdom • Climate Financial Risk Forum publishes guide on climate-related financial risk management • Heightened risk of market abuse in a remote working context? • Observations on the … Continue Reading

Financial services monthly wrap-up: July 2020

By Ray Giblett (AU), Jon Ireland, Stephen Putnins and Anjelica Balis on August 5, 2020 Posted in ASIC, Asset Management, Australia, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Financial Services, funds management, Regulators, Regulatory Compliance, Uncategorized

The month of July 2020 has seen a number of regulatory updates, guides and reminders to the financial services industry addressing the continuing challenges due to the impact of COVID-19. In particular, ASIC has released an update to its Regulatory Guide 97 Disclosing fees and costs in PDSs and periodic statements amending transitional arrangements due to COVID-19, … Continue Reading

Monthly Global FinTech regulatory updater

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

FSB report : Financial stability implications and policy measures taken

On 15 July 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a report that provides an update on financial stability developments and risks relating to COVID-19, the policy actions taken to date and how they relate to the FSB principles, the factors that affect the effectiveness of policies and their implementation and the way forward. The … Continue Reading

CPMI report identifies steps to enhance cross-border payments

By Albert Weatherill (UK) on July 15, 2020 Posted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Payment Services, Payment services, Payment services, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

On 13 July 2020, the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) issued a report, ‘Enhancing cross-border payments: building blocks of a global roadmap’. The report presents the output of stage 2 of a three stage process to develop a global roadmap for enhancing cross-border payment. The report identifies a set of building blocks where … Continue Reading

FSB and Basel Committee set out supervisory recommendations for benchmark transition

On 9 July 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel Committee) issued a report on supervisory issues associated with benchmark transition. The report includes insights on remaining challenges to LIBOR transition based on surveys undertaken by the FSB, the Basel Committee and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors. … Continue Reading

Basel Committee publication: Targeted revisions to the CVA risk framework

On 8 July 2020, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel Committee) published a paper setting out the final targeted revisions to the credit valuation adjustment (CVA) risk framework. In January 2019 the Basel Committee published the revised market risk framework. In November 2019 the Basel Committee consulted on a set of targeted final revisions … Continue Reading

Last chance to take part – Global operational resilience survey

Operational resilience, which has risen to increased prominence over recent years, has been brought into even sharper focus following the outbreak of COVID-19. Our risk consulting team is carrying out a survey to explore how financial institutions are managing their crisis response planning and preparedness in the event of severe operational disruption, particularly leading up … Continue Reading