The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, recently published the results of the 2020 Common Supervisory Action (CSA) on UCITS liquidity risk management (LRM). The CSA showed that the overall level of compliance with the applicable rules is satisfactory in most cases, but there is scope for improvement in liquidity management for some UCITS analysed. The exercise also highlighted areas where ESMA will work to further promote convergence across National Competent Authorities (NCAs). This exercise was launched on 30 January 2020. Its purpose was for all NCAs to conduct coordinated supervisory activities to assess whether UCITS managers comply with their LRM obligations. The CSA was also an opportunity to strengthen the ongoing exchange of supervisory knowledge and experience among NCAs. Continue reading…

Mr. Gent Sejko, Governor of the Bank of Albania, recently gave a keynote speech at the Conference on “New normal: Challenges & Opportunities” at the European University of Tirana, Tirana on 30 April 2021. It is a great pleasure for me to greet the proceedings of this Conference on the “New normal”. This topic is both an emergent and unresolved issue of the current economic debate. We altogether: policy makers; academics; and operators in the private sector, are aware that a new reality lies ahead in the post-pandemic world. “What would be the contours of this new reality?”; “What challenges and opportunities lie ahead of the private sector?” and “Which will be the objectives and instruments of the monetary policy”. These questions still lack a thorough answer. Continue reading…

The European Commission has recently welcomed the entry into force of the EU4Health programme on 26 March. This follows the Council adoption on 17 March and the vote on the programme by the European Parliament on 9 March. It marks the final step towards making €5.1 billion available to strengthen the resilience of health systems and promote innovation in the health sector. EU4Health will make a significant contribution to the post-COVID-19 recovery by making the EU population healthier, supporting the fight against cross-border health threats and boosting the EU’s preparedness and capability to respond effectively to future health crisis, as part of a future strong European Health Union. Continue reading…

Following feedback to its Call for Input (CFI) on Consumer Investments, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently published proposals to strengthen its financial promotion rules for high-risk investments to help retail investors make more effective decisions. The discussion paper (DP) seeks views on three areas where changes could be made to address harm to consumers from investing in inappropriate high-risk investments. The three areas of focus are the classification of high-risk investments, the segmentation of the high-risk investment market and the responsibilities of firms which approve financial promotions. The feedback to this DP will help shape the rules the FCA plans to consult on later in the year, ensure they are feasible for firms to implement and that they have the intended impact. Continue reading…

by Naeem Siddiqi

As consultants and bankers, my industry colleagues tend to think of climate risk in terms of regulations, disclosures, models, stress testing, and dollars and cents. The global climate change crisis sometimes seems so detached from our everyday lives, as if it’s a problem we can leave at the office (or home office, as is the case for many of us today). And yet we’ve already experienced – and will continue to see – more frequent and extreme severe weather events, each tremendously impactful on ecosystems, businesses, health and more. Consider, too, that certain factors driving climate change could potentially increase the likelihood of another pandemic. The thought is overwhelming. But we aren’t doomed. There are ways that we, both as a society and as individuals, can help steer humankind toward a greener future. Perhaps the one silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it provides opportunity for a “hard reset” on how we do business and how we (mis)use the planet. The question is, where do we start? Continue reading…

On Wednesday, March 31, 2021 the Ethics in the Age of Digital Finance: Issues and Challenges event was held online, which was organised jointly by the Observatoire de la Finance (Geneva) and the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society (INSEAD). From online banking to contactless payments and cryptocurrencies, financial technology – or FinTech – is rapidly impacting the financial services industry and those who must supervise and use it. The webinar presented an invaluable opportunity to engage in a meaningful discussion on how new technologies impact financial services and what the ethical opportunities and challenges are by the digitisation of finance. It also introduced the audience to the global Prize “Ethics & Trust in Finance for a Sustainable Future” that was initiated in 2006 by the Observatoire de la Finance. The Risk & Compliance Platform Europe also took part in this online event and covered it via its website. This is the final part in a series of three articles on this webinar. Continue reading…

Following an investigation, the FCA has commenced criminal proceedings against Larry Barreto and Tassib Hussain. The proceedings relate to an offence of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation involving both defendants and two further offences by Larry Barreto of carrying on regulated activities without authorisation. Larry Barreto traded as Barreto and Partners, an unauthorised financial services firm based in Nottingham. Tassib Hussain is an accountant who ran Keystone Chartered Accountants also based in Nottingham.

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Charles Randell, Chair to the Finance and Leasing Association, recently delivered a speech at the Finance and Leasing Association Industry Gathering on 22 April 2021. It’s now more than a year since we all started our extraordinary new ways of living and working with coronavirus. Last summer, three months into the first lockdown, I made a speech about the consequences of coronavirus and the financial system we would need for the recovery. I said that the recovery would be determined more by decisions about public health and fiscal and monetary policy than by financial conduct regulation, but I noted that the pandemic had exposed some stark truths: that we have too much debt; that we don’t save enough; and that when people do save, they are too often persuaded to buy unsuitable investments. I said that the financial conduct regulator we need for the recovery is one that fundamentally changes this picture. Continue reading…

by Ian Ross

The last three years have seen some seismic changes in both EU and UK anti-money laundering legislation along with related enforcement reporting initiatives. Updated Money Laundering Regulations were enacted in 2017. In early 2018, the Treasury set up a new body; the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS), to act as a ‘supervisor’ of AML supervisors with the responsibility for monitoring money laundering activity. 2018 also saw the first ‘Unexplained Wealth Order’ (UWO’s). The EU Parliament brought into force the sixth AML Directive with some stark changes to both penalties and reporting and data sharing policies. Continue reading…