The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has released frequently-asked questions (FAQs) to clarify its Internal Investigation Disclosure Obligation – a measure introduced in February 2019 to stop the “roll” of “bad apples” within the financial industry. The Obligation requires licensed corporations (LCs) and registered institutions (RIs) to provide the SFC with extra information … Read more
Authors: Kyle Wombolt, Jeremy Birch, Karen Ip and Mark Chu On 17 April 2019, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released its fourth round mutual evaluation report (Report) on the effectiveness of China’s measures on anti-money laundering (AML) and combating terrorist financing (CTF). The FATF is an intergovernmental organization which, in addition to developing AML … Read more
In this blog post, we round-up forthcoming developments in the UK and at EU and International levels in financial services regulation for June 2019. 3 Jun Deadline for responses to FCA call for input on the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) and the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) evaluation; FCA to conduct ongoing research to gather … Read more
Authors: Kyle Wombolt, Jeremy Birch and Charlotte Benton The US Department of Justice Criminal Division (DOJ) has issued updated guidance on the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (guidance). Under the guidance, DOJ prosecutors evaluate the effectiveness of a company’s compliance programme when conducting an investigation, determining whether to bring charges or negotiating plea or other … Read more
Authors: Benedicte Perowne and Kimberly Everitt On 24 April 2019 the FCA published its final “Approach to Enforcement” document, following a consultation period which ended in June 2018. The approach document attempts to provide transparency and explain the FCA’s approach in greater depth. The FCA’s overriding principle in its approach to enforcement is substantive justice … Read more
Authors: John O’Donnell, Jonathan Cross, Geng Li, Christopher Milazzo, Susannah Cogman and Daniel Hudson Further emphasizing its expectation that all companies whose business touches on the United States should maintain a robust, risk-based US economic sanctions compliance program (“SCP”), the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has published a detailed “Framework for OFAC … Read more
In line with its continuing focus on fairness in pricing and customer value, the FCA has published a thematic review on the general insurance distribution chain (TR19/2). The review contains a clear warning to firms involved in the design and sale of general insurance products that they must do more to protect customers from harm. … Read more
Authors: Jenny Stainsby, Jon Ford and Cheryl Jones The FCA has published its Feedback Statement on ‘A duty of care and potential alternative approaches’ (FS19/2). This contains a summary of responses to its Discussion Paper on this subject which was published in July 2018 (DP18/5). For more information on the Discussion Paper, see our briefing … Read more
