by Hans Timmerman

The information balance between governments/organizations and their citizens/customers has become increasingly skewed over the past decades. Political motives and resulting legislation compel executing organizations to collect excessive amounts of data about their citizens or customers. Meanwhile, privacy laws simultaneously restrict how they can use this collected data. Without explicit consent from the citizen or customer, the use of this data is minimal. This leads to significant excesses and/or inefficiencies, as seen in the benefits scandal and now with the implementation of the Wwft (the law to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism). In both cases, the political efforts to prevent fraud and terrorism have gone so far that executing organizations are effectively forced to trample basic human rights. That this leads to mishaps and excesses is understandable. How can we restore this balance? Continue reading…

The Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), the oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, met recently. The GHOS took stock of the implementation status of the outstanding Basel III reforms, which were finalised in 2017. Members have continued to make good progress with implementation. Around two thirds of member jurisdictions will have implemented all, or the majority, of the standards by this year, with the remaining jurisdictions planning on doing so by next year. Continue reading…

by Oli Rehn

As Governor of the Bank of Finland, I am glad to see so many of you here in Helsinki. It is a great privilege to share my thoughts with you today. First and foremost, we have made significant progress in disinflation since our last rate hike in September 2023. Inflation has fallen by more than 2.5 percentage points, and the inflation outlook has improved markedly. Barring further setbacks, for instance in the geopolitical situation and energy prices, or in wage developments for that matter, inflation is projected to converge to our 2% target in the medium term. Euro area economic activity is showing increasing signs of recovery, and the labour market has remained robust. The growth outlook was revised upwards yesterday, which is obviously good news. Continue reading…

The FCA, working with the Metropolitan Police Service, has conducted an operation to arrest two individuals, aged 38 and 44, suspected of running an illegal cryptoasset exchange. More than £1 billion of unregistered cryptoassets are believed to have been bought and sold through this business. The FCA inspected the offices associated with the suspects and the police seized several digital devices during searches of two residential London properties.

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The EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security, of which Eurojust is one of the main partners, has on 10 June published its first report on the use of encrypted communications in criminal investigations. The report stresses the balance that needs to be struck between securing private communications and fundamental rights, while enabling investigations and prosecutions to combat organised crime and terrorism. Continue reading…

by Craig Ramsey

The entire EU financial system is on countdown. By January 9th 2025, it will be a legal requirement for the region’s payment service providers to receive real-time credit transfers in Euros thanks to the new Instant Payments Regulation. Time is ticking and there are countless challenges to overcome. But the single biggest issue of all is consumer protection from fraud. To explain, a real-time payment is a credit transfer that makes funds available in a payee’s account within ten seconds of a payment order being made. Once received, it’s irreversible and the money can be withdrawn immediately. Continue reading…

The latest report from the International Bar Association Global Employment Institute (IBA GEI) states that political and environmental factors, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the climate crisis are together reshaping employment landscapes around the world. In the IBA GEI’s Twelfth Annual Global Report (AGR) – based on data from lawyers in 54 countries – issues such as the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift towards remote work and the challenge of skilled labour shortages, as well as the energy crisis exacerbated by the war between Russia and Ukraine, are identified as key areas for the human resources (HR) sector. Sustainability is also becoming increasingly relevant in terms of HR management. Continue reading…

by Michel Klompmaker

The Digital Operational Resilience Act, better known as DORA, was introduced in the EU last year. We talked about it with subject matter expert and Legal Director and Global Data Governance Officer at Commvault, Jakub Lewandowski. Continue reading…

by Ajay Katara

Gen AI adoption is steadily increasing in many banking and financial organisations. Its applications are expanding into risk and compliance areas, with each risk discipline identifying use cases where Gen AI can enhance efficiency by providing better insights, cost benefits, and faster turnaround times. Within the enterprise risk function, credit risk management is a primary financial risk function that significantly impacts many banking organisations. Over the past 15 years, credit risk management has matured through numerous regulatory mandates and transformation initiatives. However, there are still many areas within this function that can benefit from the adoption of generative AI. Continue reading…

The European Commission has formally designated Temu as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Temu is an online marketplace with an average of more than 45 million monthly users in the European Union. This user number, which Temu has communicated to the Commission, is above the DSA threshold for designation as a VLOP. Following the  designation as a VLOP, Temu will have to comply with the most stringent rules under the DSA within four months of its notification (i.e. by the end of September 2024), such as the obligation to duly assess and mitigate any systemic risks stemming from their services, including the listing and sale of counterfeit goods, unsafe or illegal products, and items that infringe intellectual property rights. Continue reading…