Spain’s labor ministry fined the Big Four accountancy firms at least €1.4 million (U.S. $1.5 million) total for overworking and underpaying their respective employees, continuing a recent trend in the country of the government cracking down on apparent labor violations.
Neil Hodge
Neil Hodge is a freelance business journalist and photographer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He writes on insurance and risk management, corporate governance, internal audit, compliance, and legal issues for a wide range of publications in the United Kingdom and United States.
Posted inEthics & Culture
U.K. financial regulators pressure firms to step up D&I considerations
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority set out proposals to ensure firms treat nonfinancial misconduct, such as bullying, racist behavior, and sexual harassment, as strictly as other regulatory offenses.
Posted inEurope
Naming and shaming? Fair approach? Expert views mixed on OFSI’s Wise Payments case
The recent decision by the U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation to disclose details of how Wise Payments failed to stop an individual from obtaining cash while subject to Russian sanctions has ignited debate about whether the agency is taking the right enforcement approach.
Posted inEthics & Culture
Bank privacy processes questioned after U.K. ‘debanking’ scandal
The furor over NatWest Group’s decision to monitor and close the account of right-wing Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage—and then disclose the details to a journalist—has raised questions regarding whether other banks employ the same means to get rid of undesirable customers.
Posted inEurope
Fallout from ‘debanking’ scandal suggests more U.K. bank reforms coming
The former CEO of NatWest’s decision to leak client details to the press regarding Nigel Farage is likely to cost the financial industry millions in new compliance checks as U.K. regulators prepare reviews into how banks treat people with extreme political views.
Posted inEurope
Paying ransom to avoid GDPR fine an unwise gambit
Companies that think paying reduced ransomware demands would be a better move than informing regulators of a data breach and facing enforcement are playing with fire, according to experts.
Posted inEthics & Culture
Large companies in crosshairs early under German Supply Chain Act
Amazon, IKEA, and Volkswagen were among the companies targeted in the first round of complaints under the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act—an early indication nongovernmental organizations will seek to hold big businesses accountable for alleged human rights violations.
Posted inEurope
FINMA guidance calls out Swiss bank failings on AML risk analysis
Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority published new guidance to improve banks’ money laundering risk analysis after repeatedly identifying shortcomings during on-site supervisory reviews.
Posted inEurope
Expert views mixed on proposed U.K. AML reforms
Experts share differences of opinion over whether future anti-money laundering supervision in the United Kingdom should be industry specific and whether a single regulator would be more effective than multiple bodies.
Posted inEurope
Pressure on DPAs to ensure success of GDPR cross-border proposal
Plans to speed up General Data Protection Regulation cases against the likes of Big Tech firms by improving cooperation among the European Union’s data regulators have been largely welcomed by experts.
