by Michel Klompmaker

At the moment, the Ukrainian capital Kiev is under siege and being bombed. The West is watching and Putin can carry out his long-devised plan without too much opposition. Let’s not pretend that this has been a big surprise. It quickly brings to mind 1938 when the ‘Anschluss’ through Austria with Germany became a fact. Putin has waited neatly with this invasion until after the Olympic Games in China so as not to embarrass his supporters there. One dictator learns the tricks of another dictator. China is now going to learn from the reaction of the West and can benefit from this, in the very important step for China, namely the ‘Anschluss’ of Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China that is on the program. Let’s not be naive and think that this is a utopia and that the intake can be prevented through consultation. Time for the West to wonder if we shouldn’t divide the world in two… a part that is undesirable and objectionable to the West and a part that is as little involved as possible with such dictatorships. This means that many western knots have to be counted… no more SWIFT, but also no more sponsors like Gazprom to admit to the Champions League. But banks are also embarrassed, because all those billions of money are stored somewhere. Meanwhile, the European Union has changed the sanctions regime. Continue reading…

Banks’ risk-based capital ratios remained stable and liquidity ratios continued to improve in the first half of 2021 even as the pandemic persisted, according to the latest Basel III monitoring results, published on February 21st. The report, published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and based on end-June 2021 data, sets out the impact of the Basel III framework including the December 2017 finalisation of the Basel III reforms and the January 2019 finalisation of the market risk framework. It covers both Group 1 and 2 banks (see note to editors for definitions). Continue reading…

by Dan Mihai

A leak inside the Swiss banking company Credit Suisse revealed the details of the accounts of more than 30,000 customers worldwide. These accounts hold a total of over 100 billion Swiss francs (€ 80 billion), some of which comes from illicit sources such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering and corruption. Thus, Credit Suisse is embroiled in a new controversy over its unethical discretionary policies and unclear customer selection and money-making procedures. Continue reading…

by Francesco Domenico Attisano, Fabio Accardi & Roberto Rosato

The ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) issue is now on everyone’s lips. The buzzword of the moment is very often wrongly focused only on the environmental issue (see for example Climate Change). Instead, even examining the evolution of global risks, as shown by the latest Global Risk Report1, we note an ever-increasing worldwide perception of risks related to all environmental, social and corporate governance factors. Organisations should pursue sustainable development objectives that reward the creation of long-term value. For this purpose, as outlined in the new Italian Corporate Governance Code, “greater pervasiveness of corporate sustainability, integrated into its strategic perspectives” is essential. Continue reading…

How can we break open closed-up communities all around the world and protect children from hurt? Listen to Dina-Perla’s heartfelt personal story on child abuse, harmful traditional practices, healing and empowerment. She states: “to see the patterns is to see the solutions”. Dina-Perla also shares a couple of urgent call-to-actions with us – for all of us, for the closed-up communities and for governmental bodies. Continue reading…

The European Union is filing today a case against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for restricting EU companies from going to a foreign court to protect and use their patents. China severely restricts EU companies with rights to key technologies (such as 3G, 4G and 5G) from protecting these rights when their patents are used illegally or without appropriate compensation by, for example, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers. The patent holders that do go to court outside China often face significant fines in China, putting them under pressure to settle for licensing fees below market rates. This Chinese policy is extremely damaging to innovation and growth in Europe, effectively depriving European technology companies of the possibility to exercise and enforce the rights that give them a technological edge.
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The EuroMed Justice Programme (EMJ) has organised a workshop between Belgian and Lebanese authorities on the international exchange of information for the detection and recovery of criminal assets. The activity was held in Brussels on 1-3 February using the new Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) tool. A delegation of seven judges and prosecutors from Lebanon, one of the South Partner Countries (SPCs), met with representatives of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Police, the Central Organ for Seizure and Confiscation (OCSC) and the Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTIF). Continue reading…

The Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), the oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, has of recent reaffirmed its commitment to implementing all aspects of the Basel III framework. The initial Basel III reforms have played a central role in ensuring that the banking system has thus far remained operationally and financially resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic. Unlike the experience of the Great Financial Crisis, banks have remained resilient and continued to lend to creditworthy households and businesses. Continue reading…

In his speech at the 6th Annual Afore Conference, Steven Maijoor spoke about the complexity of reshaping regulation and supervision in a financial sector where platforms and new technology play in increasingly important role. ‘This is not Basel 3, this is Basel to the power of 3.’, he said. He emphasised that, despite these complexities, financial regulators and supervisors have a responsibility to make sure that they can continue to deliver on their mandate to safeguard financial stability. Continue reading…

by Francesco Domenico Attisano, Fabio Accardi & Roberto Rosato

A quick overview on historical trend of global risks, as outlined by the Global Risk Report, with a focus on the last two years in particular, and of the outlook drawn in the latest GRR edition, can help us to take out relevant insights on risk governance and compliance. Continue reading…