The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets’ regulator, has published a statement addressed to providers marketing, distributing or selling contracts for differences (CFDs) to retail clients. The statement is in response to various practices and situations observed in the market, which raise concerns of non-compliance with the legal requirements applicable when providing services to retail clients.

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Most organisations still falling short of requirements. The (UK) government is determined to toughen its approach to modern slavery following a review of the 2015 Modern Slavery Act, according to Alexandros Paraskevas a professor of strategic risk management at the University of West London. Speaking to Airmic News shortly before the results of the review are due to published, he said businesses “should expect stricter regulation, with sanctions for non-compliance and greater obligations on businesses to mitigate the risks.”
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The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is seeking feedback from stakeholders as part of its evaluation of the effects of the too-big-to-fail (TBTF) reforms for banks that were agreed by the G20 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. The evaluation, which is being carried out by a working group chaired by Claudia Buch (Vice-President of the Deutsche Bundesbank), will assess whether the implemented reforms are reducing the systemic and moral hazard risks associated with systemically important banks (SIBs). It will also examine the broader effects of the reforms to address TBTF for SIBs on the overall functioning of the financial system. More details on the evaluation can be found in the summary terms of reference.
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a discussion paper on Intergenerational Differences, exploring the changing financial needs of consumers from different age groups. The way people build and use wealth is evolving – having an impact on their financial needs. With one of the FCA’s statutory objectives being to protect consumers, it is important that the FCA approach adapts to the changing needs of the different groups within and between generations.
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Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA, gave a speech about the the future of financial conduct regulation, at Bloomberg, London. He started by saying: “You may quite reasonably think that a title of ‘The future of financial conduct regulation’ is overly dramatic in an environment where we have quite enough drama in the world of public policy thank you very much. Or, you may think that it is typical of a regulator to over promise and under deliver. We shall see, but it is a reasonable ask that I should start by explaining why this subject and why now?”
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The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released its Strategy and Work Plan, 2019-2023. Titled Elevating Ethics in a Dynamic and Uncertain World, the publication describes the board’s strategy and priorities toward the setting of high-quality, future-ready ethics standards for professional accountants that are widely adopted around the world.
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The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure by sending a Letter of Formal Notice to Poland regarding the new disciplinary regime for judges. The Polish government has 2 months to reply. The new disciplinary regime undermines the judicial independence of Polish judges by not offering necessary guarantees to protect them from political control, as required by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Firstly, the Commission is of the opinion that Poland failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 19(1) of the Treaty on European Union read in connection with Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which enshrine a right to an effective remedy before an independent and impartial court.
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The Financial Stability Board (FSB) today published the Global Monitoring Report on Non-Bank Financial Intermediation 2018. The report presents the results of the FSB’s eighth annual monitoring exercise that assesses global trends and risks from non-bank financial intermediation. It covers data up to end-2017 from 29 jurisdictions, which together represent over 80% of global GDP.
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“Failing to take CSR seriously is a risk in itself”, says CEO. Airmic has put corporate social responsibility (CSR) firmly on the risk management agenda and urged its members to recognise their CSR colleagues as “valuable allies” in creating a resilient business. “Boardrooms increasingly recognise that a strong approach to corporate social responsibility is not just a good thing to do – it’s a business imperative,” Airmic’s CEO John Ludlow said. “But not enough risk professionals recognise they have an important role to play in supporting their business achieve its CSR objectives.”
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by Dina-Perla Portnaar

Recently, I wrote the article Why organisations need a Chief Spiritual Officer. From the higher consciousness community, I received praise, support and above all confirmation through recognition. For example: “kind of something that you dare to go public with this idea in the Dutch business world, but I so agree”. From the business world, there were a number of critical reactions: should managers and professionals not just use common sense? Is this bla bla or spiritual garbage? Finally, should there be a separate function for meaning and personal growth, similar to the Chief Happiness Officers we have and others?
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