In his speech at the 6th Annual Afore Conference, Steven Maijoor spoke about the complexity of reshaping regulation and supervision in a financial sector where platforms and new technology play in increasingly important role. ‘This is not Basel 3, this is Basel to the power of 3.’, he said. He emphasised that, despite these complexities, financial regulators and supervisors have a responsibility to make sure that they can continue to deliver on their mandate to safeguard financial stability. Continue reading…

by Francesco Domenico Attisano, Fabio Accardi & Roberto Rosato

A quick overview on historical trend of global risks, as outlined by the Global Risk Report, with a focus on the last two years in particular, and of the outlook drawn in the latest GRR edition, can help us to take out relevant insights on risk governance and compliance. Continue reading…

Academy – Euronext Group’s upcoming interactive Enterprise Risk Management educational program provides a succinct and practical overview of the most topical components of the enterprise risk management framework. Live virtual sessions are structured around the areas of Risk Appetite, Risk culture, Risk reporting, Operational Resilience and Risk Assessments. The course also features an exclusive workshop that explores softer skills and qualities that are instrumental for successful risk teams; an essential yet frequently undervalued element that is crucial for effective enterprise risk management. This is an essential course for all individuals responsible for implementing risk management practices in their organisations or those interested to stay current and improve their Operational risk solutions.
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Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS, Goethe University’s Institute for Law and Finance (ILF) recently delivered a speech at the conference on “Data, Digitalisation, the New Finance and Central Bank Digital Currencies: The Future of Banking and Money” on 18 January 2022. It’s an honour to deliver this speech at Goethe University. Of course, I wish I could have been in Frankfurt in person. In a speech at this university four years ago, I addressed the growth and pitfalls of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Since then, the debate on the future of money has grown much broader, but it continues to touch on the very foundations of the monetary system. Continue reading…

Mr. John C Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, made some remarks via a videoconference at the Council on Foreign Relations on 14 January 2022. For past two years, I’ve begun my remarks by saying how much I wish we could meet together in person. This time, I really was hoping for a chance to rewrite the script. After seeing so much progress on vaccinations over the past year and a moderation in COVID-19 infections during the fall, just a short time ago many of us had expected that we’d soon be turning the page. Continue reading…

The Higher Regional Court of Koblenz in Germany sentenced a former Syrian high-ranking official today to life imprisonment for his involvement in crimes against humanity. A German-French joint investigation team (JIT), which was set up with support of Eurojust and the Genocide Network, made a significant contribution to those investigations that led to this landmark judgment. The judgment is the first time worldwide that a high-ranking Syrian official has been convicted for crimes against humanity. As such, it will leave a lasting mark on international criminal justice. Continue reading…

KPMG has apologised for misconduct and misleading the UK’s accounting regulator after former auditors were accused of “forgery” related to audits including that of Carillion, the major government contractor that collapsed four years ago. Jon Holt, the chief executive of KPMG UK, said it was “clear” that misconduct had occurred, in a statement published to mark the start of a disciplinary tribunal on Monday. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has alleged that KPMG misled its investigators over routine inspections of the audits of Carillion and the software company Regenersis, in 2016 and 2014 respectively. The FRC has alleged that “relevant individuals acted with a lack of integrity in dishonestly or recklessly misleading the regulator”, according to tribunal documents. Continue reading…

The Financial Conduct Authority has published a Decision Notice against BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) LLP (BCMUK) setting out its decision to impose a financial penalty of £40,806,700 on the firm. BCMUK has elected to refer the case directly to the Upper Tribunal which will determine the appropriate action, if any, for the FCA to take. The FCA considers that, between 1 October 2011 and 31 December 2015, BCMUK failed to manage fairly a conflict of interest created by allocating portfolio managers working on an external fund, open to investors outside BlueCrest, to an internal fund, open only to its partners and employees.

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The Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) yesterday elected as its new Chair, François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France. His term is for a period of three years, commencing on 12 January 2022. Mr. Villeroy de Galhau succeeds Jens Weidmann who served as Chair of the Board until the end of December 2021 when he concluded his tenure as President of the Deutsche Bundesbank.

Members of the Board of Directors expressed their sincere gratitude to Mr Weidmann for his excellent services to the Bank during his chairmanship.

The Board is responsible for determining the strategic and policy direction of the BIS, supervising its Management, and fulfilling the specific tasks given to it by the Bank’s Statutes.

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The FCA has recently published a Discussion Paper aimed at maintaining a compensation framework that provides appropriate protection for consumers, funded in a fair and sustainable way. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) provides compensation when certain authorised financial services firms are unable to meet claims against them. The FSCS plays a critical backstop role in protecting consumers and ensuring confidence in financial services markets. Continue reading…