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 Once received, it’s irreversible and the money can be withdrawn immediately.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 Union deeply regrets that the Georgian Parliament decided to override the President’s veto on the law on transparency of foreign influence, and to disregard the Venice Commission’s detailed legal arguments leading to a clear recommendation to repeal this law. Continue reading…

The Bank for International Settlements’ Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) has published its work programme for 2024-25, highlighting its strategic priorities for policy, standard-setting, implementation and analytical activities. Continue reading…

Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has signed an agreement with Pasqal, a global leader in neutral atom quantum computing, to install the first quantum computer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The agreement will see Pasqal install, maintain, and operate a 200-qubit quantum computer, which is scheduled for deployment in the second half of 2025. 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…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined HSBC UK Bank plc, HSBC Bank plc and Marks and Spencer Financial Services plc (HSBC) £6,280,100 for failures in its treatment of customers who were in arrears or experiencing financial difficulty. Between June 2017 and October 2018, HSBC failed to properly consider people’s circumstances when they had missed payments. This meant it did not always do the right affordability assessments when entering arrangements with people to reduce or clear their arrears. Sometimes it took disproportionate action when people fell behind with payments, which risked people getting into greater financial difficulty. The failings were caused by deficiencies in HSBC’s policies and procedures and the training of their staff, as well as inadequate measures to identify and address instances of unfair customer treatment.
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by Margrethe Vestager

The Commission has fined Mondelēz 337.5 million euros. We have done so because they have ben restricting the cross-border trade of chocolate, biscuits and coffee products in the European Union. We find that Mondelēz illegally restricted retailers from sourcing these products from Member States where prices are lower. This allowed Mondelēz to maintain higher prices. This harmed consumers, who ended up paying more for chocolate, biscuits and coffee. Mondelēz is one of the world’s largest producers of very well-known brands that many of us would buy on a daily basis. Just to name a few, Milka, Toblerone, Côte d’Or, Cadbury, Tuc, Lu, Ritz and Oreo are all Mondelēz brands. So this case is about the price of groceries. It is a key concern to European citizens, even more obvious in times of high inflation where many are living in cost-living crisis. It is also about the heart of the European project: the free movement of goods in the Single Market. Continue reading…