Genevieve Marjoribanks, Head of Policy at the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), delivered an insightful speech to the Westminster Business eForum this week on innovation in payments and the next steps for digital payments in the UK. One of the PSR’s three key objectives is to promote the development of and innovation in payment systems, including … Read more
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have announced that they will commence a concurrent thematic review in the second half of 2020 to assess intermediaries’ practices in respect of spread charges and related disclosure to clients. Read more
First published on Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence on 13 May 2020 In April, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published, in response to a request from the G20, its awaited consultation on the regulatory, supervisory and oversight challenges raised by “global stablecoins” (GSCs). Given the FSB’s remit, the focus of the consultation is on the impact … Read more
On May 14, 2020, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the US Department of State, and US Coast Guard issued a Sanctions Advisory for the Maritime Industry, Energy and Metal Sectors, and Related Communities (the "Advisory"). The Advisory focuses on Iran, North Korea, and Syria, and offers information about, and tools to combat, emerging trends related to illicit shipping and sanctions evasion practices. Read more
Those national regulators in the EU which had put in place temporary restrictions on any short selling of securities admitted to trading on regulated markets in their jurisdictions have all confirmed that the prohibitions will not be extended. However, firms should be aware that ESMA’s temporary lower net short reporting threshold will remain in force … Read more
On 28 April 2020, the Hong Kong Competition Commission (HKCC) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance collaboration and exchange of information, particularly in respect of competition issues in the securities and futures industry. Read more
Welcome to the Spring 2020 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Read more
On 8 May 2020, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) commenced a three-month industry consultation on a proposed framework for a mandatory reference checking scheme (MRC Scheme) to address the phenomenon of “rolling bad apples” moving between financial institutions without disclosing previous misconduct to their new employer. Read more
On 5 May 2020, five financial regulators and two government bureaux published a joint statement to announce the establishment of the Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group to drive green and sustainable finance policy in Hong Kong. Read more
