On 28 April 2022, a first political trilogue on the proposed regulation on information accompanying transfer of funds and certain crypto-assets (Transfer of Funds Regulation) took place between the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. By way of background, the proposed legislation seeks to implement in European law the so called “travel rule” … Continue Reading
On 11 May 2022, it was announced that the Council presidency and the European Parliament had reached provisional agreement on the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). The provisional agreement is subject to approval by the Council and the European Parliament before going through the formal adoption procedure. The European Parliament’s press release on the provisional … Continue Reading
The FCA has recently conducted a review of financial crime controls at a sample of six challenger banks in order to identify the key financial crime risks to which such banks are exposed. The review was prompted by a substantial increase in the volume of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed by challenger banks. Whilst the … 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
A new Regulation Tomorrow Plus episode covering HM Treasury’s response to its consultation on the UK regulatory approach to cryptoassets, stablecoins and DLT is out now to stream and download. In this episode Hannah Meakin and Albert Weatherill discuss various aspects of HM Treasury’s response including the possible impact that the proposed changes will bring … Continue Reading
On 8 April 2022, the European Commission (the Commission) launched an EU Digital Finance Platform that is intended to bring together industry and European public authorities in a joint effort to continue building the Single Market in digital finance. The Platform provides for a Digital Finance Observatory including, among other functionalities, a European Fintech Map … Continue Reading
On 5 April 2022, the European Commission (the Commission) lunched a targeted consultation on a prospective establishment and regulation of essential aspects of a digital euro as a new form of central bank money. The Commission recognises that there are wide ranging challenges that a prospective digital euro would need to tackle. These range from … Continue Reading
On 4 April 2022, the FCA published a speech by Jessica Rusu (Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer, FCA) entitled Building a digital regulator: how the FCA is riding the innovation wave. Key points in the speech include: The role of data and technology is increasingly pertinent given the volatile geopolitical conditions, as can be … Continue Reading
On 4 April 2022, HM Treasury published the keynote speech given by John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, at the Innovate Finance Global Summit during Fintech Week 2022. Key points in the speech include: Year-on-year investment growth in UK fintech was up more than 200% in 2021. Almost half of the fintech unicorns in … Continue Reading
On 1 April 2022, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) published a report setting out its proposed amendments to the draft regulation on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets (recast). The Transfer of Funds Regulation (EU) 2015/847 was adopted to enhance the traceability of transfers funds by requiring payment … Continue Reading
On 30 March 2022, the Council of the EU published its text of the proposed Regulation on a pilot regime for market infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology. Earlier this month the European Parliament published its adopted text of the draft Regulation. The next step for the draft Regulation is for the Council to adopt … Continue Reading
On 30 March 2022, the FCA published a call for input regarding synthetic data to support financial services innovation. The FCA aims to understand the existing market maturity of ‘synthetic data’ within financial services and its potential for safely opening data sharing between firms, regulators and other public bodies. Financial data, such as consumer transaction … Continue Reading
On 28 March 2022, the FCA published a new webpage titled ‘Innovation Hub: market insights’. The Innovation Hub has been helping forms to develop innovative products and services since launching in 2014. During this time, the FCA has gathered a considerable quantity of data and insights into the growing FinTech market in the UK. This … Continue Reading
On 24 March 2022, the European Parliament published the text of a legislative resolution on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a pilot regime for market infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology.… Continue Reading
On 23 March 2022, the European Parliament published the text (dated 17 March 2022) of the report adopted by its Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on the European Commission’s legislative proposal for a Regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). On 23 November 2021, the Council of the EU announced that it had adopted its position … Continue Reading
On 21 March 2022, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a report regarding FinTech and Market Structure in the COVID-19 pandemic – Implications for financial stability. The main outcome of the report was that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend toward digitalisation of retail financial services. While comprehensive data on the market shares of … Continue Reading
On 17 March 2022, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published a warning to consumers that many crypto-assets are highly risky and speculative. The ESAs set out key steps consumers can take to ensure they make informed decisions. The warning is a result of growing consumer activity and interest in crypto-assets and the aggressive promotion of … Continue Reading
On 16 March 2022, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a newsletter on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Among other things the Basel Committee mentions that it is working to develop further insights into AI and ML and its discussions are focusing on the following areas: The extent and degree to which … 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
On 17 February 2022, the Artificial Intelligence Public-Private Forum (AIPPF) published its final report. The forum was launched by the Bank of England (BoE) and the FCA on 12 October 2020 for the purpose of furthering dialogue on artificial intelligence (AI) innovation between the public and private sectors. The report summarises the key issues discussed … Continue Reading
On 7 February 2022, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), comprising of the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), published their Joint Advice to the European Commission on Digital Finance. The joint advice was prepared in response to the European Commission’s (Commission) … Continue Reading
High-level officials at the Justice Department are warning that the DOJ is “surging” resources in a new effort to combat corporate crime.… Continue Reading
On 5 August 2021, the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) announced that it has imposed a penalty on TransferGo Limited (TransferGo) of £50,000 for issuing payments to accounts held at the Russian National Commercial Bank (RNCB) in violation of EU sanctions against Crimea (in breach of Council Regulation (EU) No 269/2014, as enforced … Continue Reading
On 7 January 2021, HM Treasury issued a consultation document on the Government’s approach to cryptoasset regulation, with a focus on stablecoins and a call for evidence on investment and wholesale uses. In the March 2020 Budget HM Treasury outlined two measures as part of the UK’s response to cryptoassets: Consulting on bringing certain cryptoassets … Continue Reading
