HSBC has voluntarily agreed to set up a redress scheme for customers who may have suffered detriment by paying an unreasonable debt collection charge imposed by HFC Bank Ltd (HFC) and John Lewis Financial Services Limited (JLFS), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced today. Both HFC and JLFS are now part of HSBC Bank Plc.
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by Joe Biancalana

Data is playing an increasingly central role within banking. It is key to developing intelligent omnichannel customer interactions, tailored to suit the needs of individuals and households. Data is also powering new technologies, such as AI and bots, which are in turn helping to improve operational efficiency and reduce risks. Data is even enabling new banking models, such as peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding and the sharing economy.  Continue reading…

The preparations for the launch of the Italian version of the Risk & Compliance Platform Europe website are well underway. This month, our European platform will also be available in Italian on Monday 30th January. Italy ranks as number 5 in the G8 (the wealthiest countries in the world), number 7 economically in the world in terms of Gross National Product and, we should certainly not forget that Italy, together with the Benelux countries France and West-Germany, was one of the six countries that founded the EEC, the European Economic Community (Common Market), the predecessor of the EU. Continue reading…

by Mike Dunn

At the start of 2017, we look at key trends and developments in regulatory compliance this year. Beneficial ownership will remain a major issue in corporate transparency in 2017 as well as the continued focus on supply chain transparency.  Continue reading…

Risk managers should prepare now for new EU data protection legislation that will come into force next year, Airmic and law firm BLM have urged. The new regulations are more demanding than current rules and can result in much larger fines. Risk managers are being warned that the changes could take time to implement. The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), approved by the European Parliament last year, will automatically become law in EU countries in May 2018.  Continue reading…

Global market trends are converging to accelerate the speed at which commercial and government organizations need to move from experimenting with discrete customer-facing digital projects to implementing enterprise-wide digital transformation. This is the overall finding of the CGI Global 1000, through in-person conversations with business and technology leaders in ten industries and twenty countries.
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The Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), the oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, welcomes the progress made towards completing the Basel Committee’s post-crisis regulatory reforms. However, more time is needed to finalise some work, including ensuring the framework’s final calibration, before the GHOS can review the package of proposals. Continue reading…

Today, as of 2 January 2017, the cross border mergers between Nordea Bank AB (publ) and its subsidiary banks in Denmark, Finland and Norway have been executed. As a result, all assets and liabilities of the subsidiary banks have been transferred to Nordea Bank AB (publ) and each of Nordea Bank Danmark A/S, Nordea Bank Finland Plc and Nordea Bank Norge ASA has been dissolved. The banking business in Denmark, Finland and Norway will be carried out in branches of Nordea Bank AB.
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by Pim Rank, Frans van der Eerden, Sven Uiterwijk & Yael Diamant

On 10 November 2016, the European Court of Justice (the “ECJ”) rendered a judgement on the interpretation of the requirement of ‘possession or control’ for financial collateral arrangements (“FCA’s”) (C-156/15ECLI:EU:C:2016:851, Private Equity Insurance Group/Swedbank). This ruling is important because it could be argued that the ECJ’s interpretation of the requirement of possession or control differs from the interpretation given to it in Netherlands legal practice and literature. In this article, we will discuss the ruling and its consequences for the Netherlands practice. Firstly, we will describe what FCA’s are and what the requirement of possession or control entails. Continue reading…