HKMA reminds registered institutions of their Internal Investigation Disclosure Obligation

06 June, 2019
Authors: William Hallatt, Hannah Cassidy, Natalie Curtis, Tess Lumsdaine and Isabelle Lamberton The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued a circular to registered institutions (RIs) in relation to the frequently-asked questions (FAQs) released by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on 21 May 2019, which sought to clarify the SFC’s Internal Investigation Disclosure Obligation. … Read more

Client facilitation – Key standards of conduct and internal controls identified and reiterated by Hong Kong SFC

28 May, 2019
Authors: William Hallatt, Hannah Cassidy and Jennifer Fong On 14 May 2019, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued further guidance identifying and reiterating the key standards of conduct and internal controls relating to client facilitation expected of licensed corporations (LCs). By way of background, conflicts of interest may arise in a facilitation transaction where … Read more

Disclosure of internal investigations – the Hong Kong SFC’s FAQs fail to relieve industry concerns

24 May, 2019
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

The month ahead in financial services regulatory developments…

15 May, 2019
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

Updated DOJ Guidance Steers Effective Compliance and Remediation Programmes

09 May, 2019
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

Key themes from the FCA’s Approach to Enforcement

08 May, 2019
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

Report into supervision of the Co-operative Bank: lessons not just for regulators but also for firms

29 April, 2019
Authors: Jenny Stainsby, Vicky Man and Cat Dankos While there have been other reviews1 into the near failure of the Co-operative Bank (“Co-op Bank”), on 6 March 2018, HM Treasury announced that it had directed the Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) to conduct a further investigation, specifically focused on the prudential supervision of Co-op Bank between … Read more