The challenges to the European Union’s security and resilience are becoming increasingly complex and dynamic. A range of actors constantly test our resilience, seeking to exploit the openness, interdependence and connectivity of our societies and economies. The weaponisation of energy and the acts of sabotage against the Nord Stream gas pipelines have led to heightened attention to ensure the resilience of our critical infrastructure. Against this background, it is crucial for both the EU and NATO to support efforts to enhance national and collective resilience against threats to our critical infrastructure.
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UBS plans to acquire Credit Suisse. The combination is expected to create a business with more than USD 5 trillion in total invested assets and sustainable value opportunities. It will further strengthen UBS’s position as the leading Swiss-based global wealth manager with more than USD 3.4 trillion in invested assets on a combined basis, operating in the most attractive growth markets. The transaction reinforces UBS’s position as the leading universal bank in Switzerland. The combined businesses will be a leading asset manager in Europe, with invested assets of more than USD 1.5 trillion. The discussions were initiated jointly by the Swiss Federal Department of Finance, FINMA and the Swiss National Bank and the acquisition has their full support. UBS anticipates that the transaction is EPS accretive by 2027 and the bank remains capitalized well above its target of 13%. The transaction is not subject to shareholder approval. UBS has obtained pre-agreement from FINMA, Swiss National Bank, Swiss Federal Department of Finance and other core regulators on the timely approval of the transaction.

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A new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) report has found that competition in some parts of the wholesale data market is not working as well as it should. Access to good quality, fairly priced trade data is important for the whole financial system. It allows for properly informed, timely investment decisions. Trading data includes information on prices and volumes traded and supplied by venues, like stock exchanges, where shares and other financial products are bought and sold. Markets in which firms compete to provide good quality wholesale data will make the UK an attractive place to do business for a wide range of financial service providers, and so can improve the UK’s international competitiveness.  Continue reading…

The Ukrainian authorities organised the United for Justice Conference from 3-5 March in the city of Lviv, bringing together a great number of stakeholders involved in the efforts to ensure accountability for core international crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine. As a key outcome of the conference, the seven partner countries* of the Eurojust supported joint investigation team (JIT) decided to amend the agreement between them in order to reflect the future role of the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA). Continue reading…

by Daniel Vaknine

Many people, especially within the compliance area, are talking about the EU’s relatively new directive on whistleblowing. From December 17 2023, all organisations with more than 50 employees must implement internal whistleblower channels. In addition to this, there are also requirements for secure data storage (among other things linked to GDPR) and an easily accessible and informative whistleblower policy to ensure that all requirements are met. Here you can find the full directive in English, but how will the directive actually affect workplaces around Europe, and what effect will it have in the long run?  Continue reading…

Basel III capital ratios for a sample of the largest global banks decreased from their record highs in H2 2021 to pre-pandemic levels in H1 2022, according to the latest Basel III monitoring exercise, based on 30 June 2022 data, published on 28 February. The leverage ratio fell on average across all regions, after showing some volatility during the pandemic period. The dividend payout ratio continued its upward trend as banks no longer face restrictions in dividends that member jurisdictions introduced at the onset of the pandemic. The report 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 Group 2 banks (see note to editors for definitions). Continue reading…

The UK is a leading centre for asset management, with over £11 trillion of assets managed by UK firms. The Future Regulatory Framework provides an opportunity for the FCA to look to improve asset management regulation with a more modern and tailored regime, better meeting the needs of UK markets and consumers. The FCA will make sure any changes are consistent with international standards and enable technological development and innovation. The recent paper from the FCA covers a wide range of ideas, including how it can support firms’ use of technology to improve customer experience and efficiency. It also discusses how the FCA’s rules could be streamlined and improved to help firms deliver better support to investors, retail and wholesale, UK-based and international. Continue reading…

Last week, global negotiations concluded on the landmark Treaty of the High Seas to protect the ocean, tackle environmental degradation, fight climate change, and prevent biodiversity loss. The new treaty will allow to establish large-scale marine protected areas on the high seas, which are also necessary to meet the global commitment of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Agreement concluded last December to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030. For the first time, the treaty will also require assessing the impact of economic activities on high seas biodiversity. Developing countries will be supported in their participation in and implementation of the new treaty by a strong capacity-building and marine technology transfer component, funded from a variety of public and private sources and by an equitable mechanism for sharing the potential benefits of marine genetic resources. Continue reading…

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) – the internal audit profession’s leader in standards, certifications, education, research, and technical guidance worldwide – released on 1 March for public comment, a draft on proposed changes to the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF), with focus on the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing. The 90-day public comment period opened on 1 March and runs through May 30. The public comment draft is the next step in the IPPF Evolution Project, an extensive research effort launched in 2020 that has engaged thousands of internal audit practitioners and stakeholders, including regulators, corporate directors, and standard-setting bodies from across the globe. Continue reading…

by Elina Karpacheva & Branislav Hock

This brand new paper that was recently published entitled “Foreign whistleblowing: The impact of US extraterritorial enforcement on anti-corruption laws in Europe” investigates the expansion of US law in the area of transnational economic crime by discussing the case of foreign whistleblowers, defined as non-US citizens who help US enforcement authorities to sanction both non-US corporations and US corporations that engage in economic crime. Written by Elina Karpacheva and Branislav Hock, the paper shows that extraterritorial application of US whistleblowing laws is part of a broad trend associated with extraterritorial enforcement of US laws, allowing the USA to become the leader in sanctioning US corporations as well as non-US corporations for economic crime. Continue reading…