Cooperation with countries outside the European Union to fight impunity for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity will be bolstered by a dedicated new project launched today at Eurojust. This should lead to fewer ‘safe havens’ for perpetrators of such core international crimes. The collaboration with civil society organisations (CSOs) and coordination of their efforts can also be strengthened via this four-year National Authorities against Impunity Project (IMPNA). Continue reading…

The Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), the oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, met on 4 February to endorse the Committee’s work programme and strategic priorities for 2025-26. Continue reading…

Infinox Capital Limited (Infinox) has been fined £99,200 by the FCA for failing to submit 46,053 transaction reports which risked market abuse going undetected. To monitor, detect and disrupt market abuse effectively, the FCA needs to receive complete, accurate and timely transaction reports. Between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023, Infinox failed to submit transaction reports for single-stock contracts for difference (CFD) trades executed through one of its corporate brokerage accounts. Trades executed through this corporate brokerage account accounted for the majority of this business line.   Continue reading…

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a report on the short to medium term objectives of its interest rate risk in the banking book (IRRBB) Heatmap, including observations and recommendations to institutions and supervisors. The report addresses the main areas of scrutiny identified by the short to medium term objectives of the Heatmap following the EBA scrutiny on the IRRBB as published on January 2024. It also provides tools to support the assessment of IRRBB risks, without setting any new requirements or thresholds, so as to foster a common understanding of IRRBB risks. Continue reading…

In the past month, Rupert Bedell (CEO at Fasthosts) and Georges-Olivier Reymond (Co-founder and Co-CEO at Pasqal), commented on the UK Government AI Opportunities Action Plan. Rupert addresses the critical role data centres play in realising the plan’s ambitions and the importance of embedding sustainability into this infrastructure. Georges-Olivier discusses that, whilst the plan holds promise, it raises concerns about its underlying infrastructure as quantum computing is notably absent from the discussion. You can find the full comments from them below. Continue reading…

The latest Eurobarometer survey on ‘European citizens’ knowledge and attitudes towards science and technology’ released shows more than 8 in 10 citizens (83%) think that the overall influence of science and technology is positive. Two-thirds of respondents (67%) equally agree that science and technology make our lives easier, healthier and more comfortable. Respondents are most likely to think that renewable energies (87%), information and communication technology (79%) and vaccines and combatting infectious diseases (77%) will have a positive effect on our way of life in the next 20 years. Continue reading…

An international investigation spanning several years has led to the arrest of 23 criminals running a sophisticated money laundering scheme. The group acted as a financial service for other criminals to launder their profits. The scheme facilitated the laundering of approximately EUR 100 million. An international coalition of Spanish, Cypriot and German authorities, with support of the French authorities and Eurojust and Europol, was established to dismantle the group. The takedown resulted in the seizure of over EUR 8 million in cash and the freezing of EUR 27 million in cryptocurrencies. Continue reading…

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has published its Roadmap 2025-2026, the first under the new IAIS Strategic Plan 2025-2029. The Roadmap outlines the projects and activities the IAIS will undertake in support of its four core objectives – namely to:

Monitor and respond to key risks and trends in the global insurance sector; Set and maintain globally recognised standards for supervision that are effective and proportionate; Support members by sharing good supervisory practices, promoting understanding of supervisory issues and facilitating capacity building; and Assess comprehensive and globally consistent implementation of global standards.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) and the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) welcome the recent inclusion in the Euribor panel of OP Corporate Bank and National Bank of Greece. The two banks join the group of credit institutions that contribute to Euribor under its revised methodology, which is a substitute for the panel banks’ expert judgement. The methodology was adopted in a phased approach by all members across the Euribor panel between May and October 2024. Continue reading…