The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has fined Scope Ratings GmbH (Scope) a total of EUR 2,197,500, and issued a public notice, for breaches of the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation (CRA Regulation). ESMA found that Scope fell short of the CRA Regulation’s requirements on handling conflicts of interest. This finding resulted from structural failures and specific breaches of the conflict of interest obligations in the CRA Regulation. Continue reading…

by Yannis Stournaras

Central bankers have encountered significant challenges over the past 15 years: a global financial turmoil, the euro area sovereign debt crisis, a prolonged period of very-low inflation, the pandemic, and the outbreak of geopolitical crises along with a series of supply-side shocks. Each of these developments has impacted on inflation and economic activity. Each has done so in a different way. In the following remarks, I argue that the monetary policy measures adopted by the ECB during that period — including the lowering of the policy rate to negative levels for a period of 8 years — managed to support a sustained progress towards price stability, ensuring at the same time financial stability, and supporting economic welfare. That said, there were difficult trade-offs to manage. Over time, low rates and non-standard monetary policy measures may lead to excessive leverage and cause short-term dislocations in financial markets. In addition, as we have recently seen, a pivot in the monetary policy stance to combat higher inflation, can cause losses to central banks because they have to remunerate their liabilities at higher interest rates, while their assets have locked in low yields. Do these losses impair the ability of central banks to apply their preferred monetary policy rules? Do they compromise their independence? I argue they do not.
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Nearly half (48 per cent) of businesses may lack the necessary backup measures to prevent catastrophic data losses, according to new research from Fasthosts released ahead of World Backup Day on 31st March. In a digital era where data is the most valuable commodity on the planet, businesses must take note. This is further underlined by recent and high-profile data catastrophes such as Pixar’s Toy Story 2 nightmare, GitLab’s data deletion mishap and the unfortunate data loss in Ohio counties. These stark reminders highlight the perilous journey data can take without the safety net of robust backups. Continue reading…

AT&T* has determined that AT&T data-specific fields were contained in a data set released on the dark web approximately two weeks ago. While AT&T has made this determination, it is not yet known whether the data in those fields originated from AT&T or one of its vendors. With respect to the balance of the data set, which includes personal information such as social security numbers, the source of the data is still being assessed. Continue reading…

A quarter of 15 to 29-year-olds in the EU are at risk of poverty or social exclusion1. Growth of instant payments could mean many more young adults will have savings by 2028. ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), a global leader in mission-critical, instant payments technology, has on 18 March revealed striking new data proving instant payments2 will boost the financial prospects of young adults in the EU. New research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) commissioned by ACI Worldwide shows that for every 5% increase in the volume of instant payments, the number of 15 to 24-year-olds globally who saved money in the last year increased by 15.6% on average. Continue reading…

by Inge van Dijk

On November second of last year the city of Amsterdam, came very close to disaster. It had been raining heavily for weeks, very unusual even by Dutch standards. Water levels in the waters north of Amsterdam had been rising. On top of that, storm Ciarán was about to reach the coast and drive up the water to even higher levels. Normally, under these circumstances, the sluices around the city drain excess water into the North Sea. But in this case the drainage system malfunctioned. At seven o’ clock that morning, people in some of the lower lying parts of the city saw the water sloshing against their basement windows. By that time the regional water authorities were in full crisis mode and the mayor had been warned. Finally, at half past seven the lock shafts at the sluices were repaired, and the water started to drop slowly. It was just in time: the water could have risen to up to one meter in parts of Amsterdam. Afterwards, the water authorities warned that, although there had been an exceptional combination of factors at play, we are likely to see these kind of water levels more often. Because of extreme weather conditions, caused by climate change. This is just one relative minor example from my home soil. I could have also mentioned the forest fires in Australia, droughts in Africa and central America and cyclones in South East Asia. Continue reading…

by Burkhard Balz

The Financial Stability Board recently ran a consultation on a draft report regarding “CCP financial resources in resolution”.[*1] It introduces a so-called “toolbox”. When you hear the word “toolbox”, you might imagine a craftsman with a heavy box full of different tools. For me, a scene from the film “Gran Torino”, directed by Clint Eastwood, comes to mind. A young man from the local neighbourhood is tasked with repairing damages to local homes to make up for past wrongdoing. However, he lacks both experience and suitable tools for the job. A grumpy neighbour, brilliantly portrayed by Clint Eastwood himself and with many years of expertise in repairs, hands him out three basic, but helpful, tools[*2] and advises him to acquire more and more tools over time. This scene reminds me of the beginning of our journey after the financial crisis in 2008. We, too, had repairs to make. Our strategy was, as outlined at the G20 Pittsburgh Summit in 2009, to go for a centralised clearing space in order to make our financial system safer and more resilient. Continue reading…

Last Friday, 22nd March, the European Commission proposed to increase the tariffs on imports into the EU of cereals, oilseeds, and derived products (‘grain products’) from Russia and Belarus, including wheat, maize, and sunflower meal. These tariffs, while high enough to suppress such imports into the EU in practice, would not affect exports to third countries.
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by Uzi Rosha

Compliance programs serve as a critical foundation for ensuring financial institutions operate within legal and regulatory boundaries. The dynamic and complex nature of financial regulations necessitates a strategic approach to compliance, one that is proactive, adaptable, and comprehensive. Traditional compliance frameworks, while foundational, often struggle to keep pace with the rapid evolution of financial products, services, and regulations. In the rapidly evolving financial sector, technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of compliance programs. Continue reading…

by Ian Jones

As hybrid work models become the new norm, businesses face a complex set of challenges, particularly regarding data compliance and security. Whilst managing remote teams has become more refined in recent years, there is something that threatens this way of working. That threat is unseen, unsafe and unsuspecting. It’s a digital danger that comes in the form of sensitive data loss, cyber-attacks and data breaches, each one looming ever larger in this evolving working model. The stakes are high. Continue reading…