On October 3, 2022, the US Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it charged Kim Kardashian for failing to disclose her interest in the promotion of a crypto asset on social media, resulting in a settlement of USD 1.26 million. In its brief decision, the SEC explained that Ms. Kardashian failed to disclose the approximately … Continue Reading
Que l’on pense aux Panama Papers, à WikiLeaks ou au Watergate, les lanceurs d’alerte jouent un rôle essentiel dans la divulgation de la corruption et des abus de confiance du public. Voilà pourquoi de si nombreux pays se sont dotés de lois pour protéger les lanceurs d’alerte. Sauf le Canada. Les lois canadiennes en la … Continue Reading
From the Panama Papers, to WikiLeaks, to Watergate, whistleblowers have been instrumental in exposing corruption and abuses of public trust. That is why so many countries have laws to protect whistleblowers. Except Canada. Canada’s whistleblower protection laws have received serious criticism from international watchdogs. This post looks at what protections are available, and how they … Continue Reading
Au cours de la dernière année, les législateurs et les autorités gouvernementales du Canada ont redoublé d’efforts pour lutter contre la corruption et la violation des droits de la personne au sein des chaines d’approvisionnement mondiales. De tels efforts ciblent souvent des multinationales dans le but de leur imposer des obligations de vérification diligente concernant … Continue Reading
Regardless of your position on whether cryptocurrency is a legitimate method of payment, you can’t deny its permeation into mainstream society recently. From donations to Ottawa “freedom” protests[1] to countries approving bitcoin as legal tender,[2] the use of cryptocurrency is emerging beyond the dark web. But with use comes misuse. In 2021, there were an … Continue Reading
Que l’on croit ou non qu’elle constitue un mode de paiement légitime, on ne peut nier que la cryptomonnaie s’insinue récemment dans la société en général. En effet, qu’elle serve à des dons pour les « manifestations pour la liberté » à Ottawa[1] ou encore que des pays approuvent le bitcoin en tant que monnaie légale[2], la … Continue Reading
Les dirigeants et administrateurs canadiens devraient bien prendre en note les changements de priorités en matière d’application des dispositions pénales aux États-Unis. Dans de récents discours lors de la tenue de la 37e édition du National Institute on White Collar Crime de l’ABA, le procureur général des États-Unis, Merrick Garland, et le procureur général adjoint, Kenneth … Continue Reading
Canadian officers and directors should take note of shifting criminal enforcement priorities in the US. In recent addresses to the ABA’s 37th National Institute on White Collar Crime, US AG Merrick Garland and Assistant AG Kenneth Polite Jr. confirmed that in prosecuting corporate crime, the US DOJ’s “first priority” is the individuals responsible for the … Continue Reading
Once a far-off concept, digital assets, including cryptocurrency, have grown dramatically, achieving over US$3 trillion in value last November with no signs of slowing. Extraterritorial application of foreign laws is an emerging concern as cryptocurrency regulations take shape in other countries, notably the United States. While cryptocurrency regulations have yet to develop in Canada, Canadian … Continue Reading
Autrefois un concept obscur, les actifs numériques, dont les cryptomonnaies, ont connu une croissance spectaculaire, réalisant une valeur de plus de 3 T$ US en novembre dernier sans le moindre signe de ralentissement. L’application extraterritoriale des lois étrangères est une préoccupation émergente alors que des règlements sur les cryptomonnaies sont mis en œuvre dans d’autres pays, notamment … Continue Reading
Avis du ministère de la Justice américain sur une violation en vertu de la FCPA – est-ce que cela se produirait au Canada? En janvier, le ministère de la Justice américain (Ministère) a rendu un avis à une société américaine sur la question de savoir si le fait de payer un tiers pour la libération … Continue Reading
In January, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an opinion to a US company on whether paying a third party for release of its employees would breach the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).[1] The DOJ said it would not bring charges against the company if it made a payment to prevent imminent threat to … Continue Reading
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has issued its final version of the Capital Adequacy Requirements (CAR) guideline and Leverage Requirements (LR) guideline. OSFI updates its CAR guideline periodically to ensure capital requirements reflect the underlying risks and developments in the financial industry. The LR guideline supplements this by setting out the … Continue Reading
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has issued its final version of the Corporate Governance Guideline (CGG). The CGG sets out OSFI’s expectations for boards of directors of federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs). The CGG applies to all FRFIs other than the Canadian branch operations of foreign banks and insurance companies. The … Continue Reading
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) recently released two notices on the implementation and regulation of the Canadian bail-in regime, namely: CSA Staff Notice 46-309, in connection with the regulation of Bail-in Debt (as defined below); and CSA Staff Notice 81-331, in connection with the implications of the bail-in regime on investment fund issuers, subject to … Continue Reading
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has released proposed revisions to the Leverage Requirements (LR) guideline in order to align with upcoming modifications to Chapter 4 (Settlement and Counterparty Risk) and Chapter 7 (Securitization) of the Capital Adequacy Requirements (CAR) guideline. The LR set out the framework for the leverage ratio, which … Continue Reading
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has released a discussion paper on the proposed implementation of the final Basel III reforms in Canada. The reforms were published in December 2017 and, in summary, seek to: Enhance credibility in the calculation of risk-weighted assets. Improve the comparability and transparency of banks’ capital ratios. … Continue Reading
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has provided greater transparency to the market surrounding the Domestic Stability Buffer (the DSB) currently held by Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) in a bid to guard against Pillar 2 risks associated with systemic vulnerabilities. OSFI revealed last week that D-SIBs must hold an extra cushion, … Continue Reading
Last week, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) issued its final guideline on total loss absorbing capacity (TLAC) disclosure requirements for Canadian domestic systemically-important banks (D-SIBs). The new guideline sets out the format, timing and location of the TLAC disclosure requirements, among other things. The new guideline further requires that D-SIBs begin … Continue Reading
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), the federal financial institutions prudential regulator, recently addressed the issue of a cap on issuance of covered bonds which presently stands at 4% of a bank’s total assets. OSFI is now taking a hard look at this limit and is doing so in the context of … Continue Reading
