by Brendan Sinnott and Evert-Jan Lammers

Among the interesting events was a discussion on Overcoming the Shadow Economy, mostly dealing with offshore tax havens. On the speakers, Nick Shaxson, is the author of a book on Tax Havens, called “Treasure Islands”, which quantifies the sums squirreled away in these islands, many of them in the Caribbean. Bodies, such as the OECD, have issued detailed reports on this topic and the Panama Papers news has added fuel to the fire of indignation over this practice. A recent resolution of the G20 called for a public register of Beneficial Owners in each of these havens. The sums are impressive – some $3 trillion according to some projections. A political solution would be the most efficient. Continue reading…

What is the best paid sector for risk managers? How much do risk managers spend on broker services? What does a typical Airmic member look like? Airmic has revealed the results of its biennial Salary and Status Survey, read the highlights here. The industrial and manufacturing sector is the most lucrative industry for risk managers, according to Airmic’s 2016 Salary and Status Survey, which also revealed an overall fall in salaries across almost all age groups. 
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Dealmaking appetite in Europe has been overshadowed by the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, according to the fourth edition of the European M&A Outlook, published by CMS in association with Mergermarket. The report canvassed the opinions of 230 Europe-based executives, from corporates and private equity firms, both before and after the UK’s referendum on 23 June. In the aftermath of the Brexit vote, 66% of respondents believed European M&A will be more muted over the next 12 months, compared to just 18% pre-referendum. Moreover, while only 23% of those surveyed before 23 June felt less positive about levels of European M&A activity than they did in the previous year, after the vote 90% said they were less positive about the European deal outlook.
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by Jorden Veenstra

As with most European legislation MiFID I contained a commitment by the European Commission to re-examine the implementation and impact of MiFID I after a number of years. MiFID II is meant to address the shortcomings of the original MiFID, to extend the scope of MiFID, to respond to lessons learned during the financial crisis and to provide for market and technological developments since 2004. Let us take a closer look at how MiFID II. due for implimentation on January 3, 2018, will impact securities exchanges’ data businesses.
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The Basel Committee today published the results of its latest Basel III monitoring exercise. The Committee established a rigorous reporting process to regularly review the implications of the Basel III standards for banks and it has published the results of previous exercises since 2012. Data have been provided for a total of 228 banks, comprising 100 large internationally active banks (“Group 1 banks”, defined as internationally active banks that have Tier 1 capital of more than €3 billion) and 128 “Group 2 banks” (ie representative of all other banks).
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The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has today published a report for the G20 Leaders at their Summit in Hangzhou on 4-5 September. The report is an update on the implementation of Basel III regulatory reforms since the Committee’s progress report to G20 Leaders in November 2015.  Continue reading…

by Robert Schneider

In an effort to ensure compliance with financial crime regulations, regulators globally are beginning to focus their attention on the corporate sector. Many companies are regarding this new responsibility with scepticism and try to assign it to their banks. However, due to the complexity of the respective regulations, this approach is neither constructive nor a free pass for the future. But by attending to the issue and acting quickly, they can avoid negative effects to their core business.
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We talk a lot about risk appetite, but what does it mean in practice? That was the question posed by Airmic deputy CEO Julia Graham at the Cambridge risk summit. The event also heard from a leading academic that knowledge is an often-neglected area of risk management.

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by Frank van den Nieuwenhuijzen

During the closing dinner of the annual meeting of the Risk and Compliance Platform Europe, Professor Ronald Jeurissen and Professor Sharon Oded debated moral muteness and integrity deafness. Professor Jeurissen stressed the importance of breaking through moral muteness among employees. Professor Oded agreed, but added that integrity deafness within an organisation is at least equally important to address.
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by Christophe Donay

Results from the UK’s referendum on membership of the European Union (EU) indicate that voters have decided the UK should leave the EU. This result is likely to have wide political, economic and financial market repercussions, leading us to alter our economic and market forecasts and, potentially, our asset allocation. Continue reading…