We are pleased to be hosting and speaking at a breakfast briefing for MLROs.com, giving an update on financial crime prevention laws and regulations and related developments. Attendance is free, but please register through MLROs.com, where you will find further details of the event.
Please join us for our Fintech and Insurtech Forum in London on 10 May. An expert panel will discuss the latest blockchain trends and breakthroughs. Attendance is free and you can register via our website.
In a recent speech, Vice-President of the EC, Valdis Dombrovskis, warned of the consequences arising from the fact that the transition period agreed at a European level was part of the overall future withdrawal agreement. Therefore, if finalisation of the withdrawal agreement was compromised due to issues such as the Irish border and governance of […]
The FCA has published a speech by its Chief Executive, Andrew Bailey, in which he spoke about open markets through the prism of Brexit, including the prospects and reasons for a transition period and what the steady-state future could look like. Bailey highlighted the paramount need for financial stability and argued that this would be […]
FATF has updated on recent discussions with the FinTech and RegTech sectors. It has recently focused on: using digital IDs for CDD. Institutions increasingly use this, and discussions focused on whether there is any need for change or clarification in the FATF recommendations to support the practice; and the regulatory landscape for crypto-assets. Participants stressed […]
The European Commission has reported that consumers still face some obstacles when trying to compare investment funds, life insurance or personal pensions. The report finds that recent EU measures, such as MiFID 2 and the PRIIPs Regulation, should help, but that consumers find a great variance in costs for similar product categories cross-border. It also says most consumers […]
Peter Wyman’s report on a review of debt advice funding has been published. The report makes several recommendations, including: face-to-face advice should still be widely available but there should be general and phased shifts by free-to-client providers from face-to-face to phone and then to webchat; free-to-client providers should commit to 20% efficiency savings over the next 2 financial years, […]
Robert Barrington, Executive Director of Transparency International, has written to David Green at the SFO warning that DPAs, while a useful tool that TI supports must nevertheless be used properly, so as not to become a “soft option” for those guilty of corruption. TI is concerned that discounted DPA settlements will give that impression. The […]
As part of the proposed process of transferring the regulation of Claims Management Companies to the FCA, HM Treasury is consulting on draft regulations that will form part of a final statutory instrument creating a new framework of regulation for Claims Management Companies (CMCs). The draft regulations set out the proposed permissions that CMCs will […]
Philip Hammond is to use the G7 and IMF meetings in Washington this week to call for: international agreement on denying North Korea access to finance. He wants all jurisdictions to push their banks and insurance companies to be more alert to spotting new methods of deception that attempt to bypass restrictions; and the IMF to target global corruption. He […]
FCA has updated its website on pre-application stages for firms wishing to become authorised. The changes focus on what asset managers should consider.
HM Treasury and the US Treasury Department have announced the formation of a Financial Regulatory Working Group, to formalise engagement on bilateral regulatory cooperation. The group is scheduled to meet twice a year
Following its vote to approve MLD5, the EP has now published the provisional version of the approved text.
FCA has created a new page on its website explaining the basic advice regime under MiFID 2 and the IDD. It explains it needed to update its guidance to firms to explain the impact of these pieces of legislation. In particular, it addresses how it needed to apply some MiFID 2 requirements (or “at least […]
The latest complaints data from FCA shows 3.76m complaints were received by firms in the second half of 2017. This is a significant increase on the previous half year, with 1.55 million complaints relating to PPI – 40% more than the previous half year and the highest level for over 4 years. Similarly, firms paid […]
FCA has written a “Dear CEO” letter on irredeemable preference shares and similar instruments. FCA is looking to ensure investors have all the information they need to assess the risks and rewards of certain fixed income shares and is particularly concerned about those described or implied in some way to be permanent. It therefore wants […]