Wyoming’s attempt to establish banks as custodians for digital assets sounds great, but it might not be enough to convince institutional investors to take the plunge, caution some legal experts. The reason: without explicit rules from either federal securities or banking regulators, attorneys aren’t willing to tell any registered investment advisor it is on solid […]
FINRA’s TBA Margin Rules: Stuck in Government Limbo
(Editor’s update 1/31/2019) The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has decided to give collateral operations and compliance managers a temporary break from complying with new margin requirements for covered agency transactions. FINRA has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a request to extend by an extra year to March 25, 2020 the implementation date of […]
Unclaimed Assets: Delaware Lawsuit Resurrects Ops Headaches
Unclaimed property operations managers at US financial firms need to stay proactive when it comes ensuring correct administrative and reporting procedures, warn compliance experts. The costly alternative: whopping state fines. A recent lawsuit filed by Illinois-based chemical supplier Univar against the state of Delaware provides ample evidence that Delaware is being even more vigilant in […]
SEC: Your Words Count in Suspicious Activity Reports
Anti-money laundering compliance managers at US clearing brokers will need to take a closer look at their process for when they file suspicious activity reports and what they say in light of a recent court ruling involving penny-stock clearing broker Alpine Securities. In granting summary judgment in favor of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s […]
Reg Compliance 2019: Tips to Ease Data Pain
When it comes to handling the data challenges inherent in regulatory compliance, 2019 will no exception for middle and back-office buy and sell-side operations, compliance and technology managers. While the rules of MIFID II and EMIR likely took up much of their attention over the past few years, a survey of about fifty operations, compliance […]
Trump’s Iranian Sanctions: New Policing Compliance Twists
What’s old is new again when it comes to US sanctions against Iran. Well almost, for anti-money laundering compliance managers and analysts at US banks. US President Donald Trump’s resurrection of sanctions against Iran in August and last month will force wire departments and correspondent banking units at US banks to dig deeper into the […]
SEC To CEOs: Keep Track of Chief Compliance Officers
Chief compliance officers at US broker-dealers had better get used to answering a lot more questions from their chief executive officers about how well they are doing their jobs. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has just sent brokerage CEOs a subtle warning: we could hold you legally liable for failing to supervise your chief […]
US Withholding Agents Face the FATCA Music
The US Internal Revenue Service is spreading its love for the Foreign Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to US shores. US tax operations and corporate tax directors at US banks and broker-dealers serving as US withholding agents must now deal with the IRS’ request for more information on their compliance with FATCA. If they haven’t done […]
FINRA: Customer Protection Applies to Digital Assets
The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority could soon be offering broker-dealers some badly-needed guidance on how they should handle cryptocurrencies and similar products. Industry sources tell FinOps Report that FINRA is in discussions with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Department of Trading and Markets about FINRA crafting a regulatory notice informing broker-dealers how to apply […]
IRS Creates Legal,Ops Headaches for Escheated IRAs
(Editor’s Update on November 29, 2018): Tax operations, compliance and technology managers at US financial firms now have until January 1, 2020 to implement the Internal Revenue Service’s rule to withhold taxes on unclaimed individual retirement accounts. The IRS’ one-year extension is far less than the 18 months requested by the securities industry but provides […]