Insurance firms may not be ready to implement new product governance rules there to ensure insurance provides fair value, according to a review published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Part of the FCA’s ongoing work to ensure consumers receive fair value, the review looked at how firms designed, sold and reviewed their products to ensure they met the needs of their customers. The findings show that some firms had made good progress in meeting the FCA’s existing rules and guidance on product governance and value, issued in 2018 and 2019, as well as against temporary guidance on product value, issued in response to Covid-19 last year.

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by Nigel Rizzo

Researchers have found a security flaw in Apple Pay with a Visa card in the digital wallet. The digital version of pick-pocketing works over the air even when the iPhone is locked. Although the new setting ‘express transit’ allows millions of people to pay without a card, it makes it easier for hackers to steal from your phone. The iPhone could be in a bag or in someone’s pocket and be charged without the owner’s consent and there is no transaction limit.

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On October 1st, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published its approach for the implementation of Interbank Offered Rates (IBOR) transitions including with regards to timing and implementation. EIOPA will implement the updated methodology for the calculation of the risk-free interest rates as of January 2022 for the British pound, Swiss franc and Japanese yen. Continue reading…

by Elena Pykhova

Operational resilience has always been part of the agenda of financial services firms. During the past 18 months of the widespread long-lasting disruption, it has been put to the test, and it is not surprising that regulatory emphasis on maintaining continuity of critical operations has resulted in multiple recent publications. The Basel Committee’s principles for operational resilience1 urge the firms to up their continuity and recovery capabilities. UK regulatory guidance2 goes a step further, setting out a clear plan and roadmap for firms to define business services and their impact tolerances by March 2022 and ensure their ability to operate within set tolerances by 2025. So, how far advanced are financial services firms in complying with the new set of requirements? Continue reading…

In the early hours of 4 September, coordinated simultaneous actions in Basilicata (Italy) and in the Republic of Moldova resulted in the takedown of a criminal human trafficking network, saving nearly 90 victims from severe labour exploitation under horrid conditions. In the coming days, authorities will focus on tracing the victims of exploitation to provide legal assistance and protection. The joint action was the result of an intense investigative effort and structured international judicial cooperation during the past year coordinated through the Italian Desk at Eurojust in close cooperation with the Eurojust contact point in the Republic of Moldova at the General Prosecutor’s Office and with the support of Europol. Continue reading…

The sterling, Japanese yen, Swiss franc and euro LIBOR panels are ceasing on 31 December 2021. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently confirmed that to avoid disruption to legacy contracts that reference the one-, three- and six-month sterling and Japanese yen LIBOR settings, it will require the LIBOR benchmark administrator to publish these settings under a “synthetic” methodology, based on term risk-free rates, for the duration of 2022. These 6 LIBOR settings will be available only for use in some legacy contracts, and are not for use in new business. The recent publications also include a consultation paper on the FCA’s proposed decision on which legacy contracts can use these synthetic LIBOR rates. Continue reading…

While the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the corporate landscape in the present, the new edition of ECIIA’s Risk in Focus Report highlights climate change as the rising risk of the future. The Risk in Focus 2022 tracks the risks facing organisations year-on-year as ranked by more than 700 Chief Audit Executives (CAEs) representing a range of organisations including leading businesses, public sector organisations and NGOs from across Europe. Climate change has been steadily moving up on the agenda, climbing four positions in the rankings since 2021 and seeing a 41% increase in CAEs who view it as a top five risk, putting it in the top ten for the first time. But, 7 in 10 (69%) of CAEs still don’t consider climate change as a ‘top five’ risk to business, and just one in 10 (12%) internal audit teams have said they are prioritising spending significant time and effort preparing for the ‘existential risk’ of climate change. So, we encourage organisations to act now to avoid disruption in the future. Continue reading…

Dr. Sabine Mauderer, Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, recently gave a speech on 14 September 2021 at the International Conference on Statistics for Sustainable Finance, jointly organised by the Bank of France, Deutsche Bundesbank and the Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics, Paris. She was delighted to be there. It gave her the opportunity to talk about two subjects close to her heart: Sustainable finance and the availability of good quality data. Many of us laughed when – almost ten years ago – the Harvard Business Review proclaimed that ‘data scientist’ would be the sexiest job of the 21st century. But as we all know, statistics and data have been growing in importance all the time, propelled by fascinating technological changes. Continue reading…