No harm, no foul. That is the premise of how regulators typically work when it comes to deciding whether to fine a firm for wrongdoing. However, when it comes to new European regulations prohibiting insider trading and market manipulation, that will soon no longer be the case. The new European Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), effective […]
Mutual Funds to SEC: Change Math on Swaps Exposure
Not all derivative contracts are created equal. That is the message mutual fund managers are giving the US Securities and Exchange Commission about its proposal to limit their exposure to derivatives. The SEC fears the growth in the use of derivatives by mutual funds and other registered investment fund advisers leading to greater financial losses. […]
Europe’s Revised Settlement Regime: Still Problematic?
latto nude venus3444 Just who is responsible for fixing a securities transaction which fails to settle on time? a. the securities depository b. the custodian of the injured counterparty c. the injured trading counterparty d. all of the above The European Securities and Markets Authority, the pan-European regulatory agency, recently decided that the answer should […]
FINRA: Making Compliance a Way of Life
Culture of compliance. Those three words recently uttered by the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as being one of its priorities during its exam process this year hasn’t exactly taken broker-dealers or their legal counsel by surprise. After all, broker-dealers know they have to fulfill regulatory requirements. Yet the term is generating plenty of […]
Investment Fund Transfer Agents: Forget About Monitoring Brokers
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has the right intention in wanting to update its outdated rules for transfer agents, say investment funds transfer agents and their legal counsel, but its approach in regulating shareholder recordkeepers of buy-side firms may be flawed. Among the growing list of concerns is whether investment fund transfer agents might […]
Mutual Funds to SEC: We Can’t Swing Prices
When proposing new rules, the US Securities and Exchange Commission often plays catch-up to the changing technological or market times. Not so when it comes to the practice of swing pricing, part of its new proposed rules for liquidity management.by US registered investment funds. Nothing short of a revolutionary change in operational capabilities would be needed […]
US Registered Funds: Say Hello to Derivatives Risk Managers
Must have knowledge of derivative products, risk management, compliance procedures, technology implementation and project management. An MBA or graduate degree in financial engineering is required. A certified financial analyst designation is preferred. Those are the likely employment requirements for the derivatives risk manager that many US registered investment funds will have to hire if the Securities and Exchange Commission […]
Fund Transfer Agents: SEC Toughening the Rules
Providers of shareholder recordkeeping services for US mutual funds and non-equity accounts could soon face more regulatory oversight if the US Securities and Exchange Commission has its way. The SEC’s lengthy concept release issued late last year suggests that the US regulatory agency wants rules to keep up with the changing times. To that end, […]
UK Watchdogs Put C-Level Execs on the Hotseat
When it comes to accepting liability for regulatory wrongdoing, the top UK bank executives will no longer be able to hide behind the Queen’s royal we. As of March 6, C-level officials at UK banks and other bank-like organizations will find themselves individually liable for not only their own wrongdoing, but also for the financial […]
US Anti-Bribery Corruption Laws: Guilty Until Proven Innocent?
Know-your-customer isn’t the only motto financial firms should live by. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has put human resource, compliance and risk departments of financial institutions on high alert that they have to know a lot more about candidates for internships and employment, as evidenced in a recent multimillion dollar penalty paid by BNY […]