The Federal Trade Commission announced it is seeking public comment on ways to improve its existing regulations for negative option marketing. Negative option marketing is a common form of marketing whereby the absence of affirmative consumer action constitutes consent to be charged for goods or services. Such marketing is widely used, and can provide benefits to both sellers and consumers. However, consumer benefits may be lost when marketers fail to make adequate disclosures, bill consumers without their consent, or make cancellation difficult or impossible.

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The Sibos 2019 London event took place at ExCeL London from September 23rd to the 26th and held more than 11,000 delegates, 600 speakers and 300 exhibitioners. Sibos was hosted for the very first time in London, with the city being renowned for its close association to finance, innovation and technology. Continue reading…

Raj Parker has announced that the independent investigation into the approach to, implementation and oversight of the Connaught Income Fund Series 1 (the Fund) is now up and running and is inviting affected individuals to get in touch. The review will consider the proportionality, appropriateness and effectiveness of the actions taken by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and later the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) when supervising Tiuta, Capita and Blue Gate.

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The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has launched an open-ended fund for central bank investments in green bonds. Responding to a growing demand for climate-friendly investments among official institutions, the BIS’s green bond fund initiative helps central banks to incorporate environmental sustainability objectives in the management of their reserves.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it took a significant step toward establishing the regulatory regime for security-based swap dealers by adopting a package of rules and rule amendments under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). These actions establish recordkeeping and reporting requirements for security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants and amend the recordkeeping and reporting requirements for broker-dealers. Under these rules, these companies will be required to create and retain fundamental business records to document and track their operations, facilitating the Commission’s ability to monitor compliance and reducing risk to the market.

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by Elina Karpacheva

The Bulgarian FinTech community met to discuss compliance and financial crime for the first time in Sofia. The Spotlight event, organized by Eleven Ventures and the European Compliance Center was truly a success – an evening full of valuable insights and discussions between entrepreneurs and AML/financial crime specialists. The event showed that the thriving innovative ecosystem seriously takes into account the AML/financial crime risks and is committed to building effective internal systems for detection, prevention and response. The event coincided with the launch of the First Bulgarian FinTech report. Bulgaria is the fastest growing Fintech destination in the CEE region according to the newest CEE Fintech Atlas by the Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI).
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The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched a public consultation on draft Guidelines (GLs) on the determination of the weighted average maturity (WAM) of the contractual payments due under the tranche, as per the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) Article 257(1) (a). These draft GLs aim at ensuring that the methodology applicable for the determination of the WAM for regulatory purposes is sufficiently harmonised in order to increase consistency and comparability in the own funds held by institutions.

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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published multi-firm review findings indicating the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive’s (MiFID II) research unbundling rules have improved asset managers’ accountability over costs, saving millions for investors. A key principle of the MiFID II unbundling reforms is to ensure that portfolio managers act as good agents in the best interests of their clients and that their investment decisions are not unduly influenced by third parties.

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Christopher Woodhead’s decade and a half on the run has ended, following an enforcement hearing at Leeds Magistrates’ Court. In 2004, Woodhead was sentenced to 6 years and 4 months in prison, following a joint prosecution by the Serious Fraud Office and West Yorkshire Police. Today he was handed down an additional 3 years default sentence in relation to the unpaid confiscation order of £428,000. With interest, the amount now owing is £900,000.

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The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have signed an Operational Agreement on the BIS Innovation Hub Centre in Hong Kong SAR. The Hub will identify and develop in-depth insights into critical trends in technology affecting central banking; develop public goods in the technology space geared towards improving the functioning of the global financial system; and serve as a focal point for a network of central bank experts on innovation. Hub Centres will be set up in Hong Kong, Singapore and Basel, Switzerland, in the initial phase.

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