Banks and other financial institutions may think they can prove to regulators they are combatting financial crime and terrorist activities by filing as many suspicious activity reports as they can. Yet more often than not they are missing out on the real criminal activity, say anti-money laundering and compliance managers. No one wants to specify […]
Accounting Rule Upends Contract Management
A new global accounting rule that changes the way revenue is recognized and disclosed on financial statements is going to give fund management firms, financial technology shops and data providers a lot more stress. Contract management, financial reporting, IT, legal counsel and even human resource directors will have to work together more closely than ever […]
Alternative Funds Industry Tackles Data Culture
Chief data officer (CDO) may not the most sought-after position at hedge fund management shops, but that isn’t stopping the C-level executives from pushing hard to create a better data management culture — including finding someone to take on the role, with or without the title. To support this effort, a new group calling itself the Data […]
DSB Floats a New Payment Plan for OTC ISINs
Swaps dealers and other financial firms which need international securities identification numbers (ISINs) for over-the-counter derivative contracts will pay for receiving the codes based on one of three new categories they select from a new pricing model released by the Derivatives Service Bureau (DSB), being launched by the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA). The […]
New York Tightens Screws on 3rd Party Cyber-Risk
Out of sight doesn’t mean out of mind when it comes to following New York State’s new rigorous rules on how banks must manage cybersecurity risk. Cybersecurity information security officers (CISOs), IT directors, compliance managers, legal counsel, and vendor procurement specialists will need to work together to perform due diligence on third-party vendors, negotiate new […]
E-Discovery: Five Practical Tips for Survival
They want what? Compliance, legal and IT departments have good reason to be alarmed when a subpoena, regulatory request, or internal investigation triggers an e-discovery process. The answers to questions about possible criminal or other illegal activity are hidden in a mountain of institutional data, say panelists and attendees at a recent Legalweek event hosted […]
Blockchain 2017: Regulatory Reality from FINRA
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 […]
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 […]