Straight from the horse’s mouth, US broker-dealers have just been advised about the many ways their use of blockchain could impact their compliance with rules imposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) — including recordkeeping, clearance and settlement, anti-money laundering, trade reporting and customer statements. FINRA , the US self-regulatory agency for broker-dealers, has issued a […]
Pre-Release ADRs: More SEC Fines on the Way?
First ITG. Who is next? That is the question fund managers and other investors are asking themselves after learning that the US Securities and Exchange Commission fined broker-dealer ITG $24.4 million for violating regulations on how it used the pre-released shares of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). The SEC says that ITG violated Section 17(a)3 of […]
New York Raises Bar on AML and Sanctions Programs
Some US and foreign banks with New York offices will soon face the challenge of proving that their transaction monitoring and sanctions filtering programs for catching criminal activity really work. The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) believes that although banks and banking-regulated institutions may already have AML programs, there are still too many illegal […]
RegTech 2017: Taking FinTech the Extra Mile
Those who think that RegTech is only about technology geared to meeting regulatory requirements should think again. The term, say operations consultants and IT specialists, also represents a new state of mind, oriented toward maximizing the use of current applications, eliminating unnecessary ones, and reducing data discrepancies. “Whereas financial technology, or FinTech for short, focuses strictly […]
OTC ISIN Fees: Who Pays What, When and Why
Financial firms will need to start preparing their 2018 budgets early now that the Association for National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) has given them some inkling of the fees needed to obtain new international securities identification numbers (ISINs) for over-the-counter derivative contracts. The largest swaps dealers and trading platforms would pay the most, while low-volume OTC […]
Blockchain’s Smart Contracts: What’s Smart, What’s Not
Can smart contracts be made smart enough to be accurate, ensure the right balance between confidentiality and transparency, and reach widespread acceptance? Yes, but not without a lot more work. That is the consensus of a group of blockchain developers, advocates and analysts that spoke and attended a recent event held by the Wall Street Blockchain […]
Making Every Proxy Vote Count is Hard Work
An investor casts its vote at an annual or other corporate meeting, but has no way of knowing whether it was actually received and counted. It could be rejected or even partially accepted, which defeats the purpose of casting the vote in the first place. While the US Securities and Exchange Commission has left market […]
No Shortcuts Reimbursing NAV Errors Says SEC
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent $3.9 million settlement with social investment manager Calvert Investment Management highlights the operational challenges — and potential legal liabilities– faced by mutual fund companies that must equally compensate all investors for any errors in net asset value calculations . It isn’t enough to make a best effort. Fund […]
Cybersecurity and AML: How the Twain Must Meet?
What is the connection between a bank’s cybersecurity breach or event and money laundering? The same criminal. says the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. That’s why FinCEN wants financial firms to include information on cybersecurity events or breaches on their suspicious activity reports (SARs). Doing so will ensure that the financial firm is on […]
Europe’s PRIIPs: When Being Clear Isn’t All That Easy
Fund managers, banks and insurance firms can now breathe a collective sigh of relief, but not for long. The European Commission has just announced that it has postponed by one year the implementation date for new legislation requiring financial firms to more clearly explain the risks and rewards of some investment products that fall under […]