Image: Title: WheatleyBritain’s Financial Conduct Authority released a laundry list of priorities for the upcoming financial year, pledging to continue work on concerns like poor culture and technological developments while ramping up efforts on financial crime, the pensions sector, and individual accountability. “This is an important day in terms of setting out our priorities for the year ahead,” FCA Chief Executive Martin Wheatley said. Details inside.
Roberta Holland
Posted inFrom the Archive
European Commission Probes Antitrust Breaches in Bulgaria, Spain, Belgium
Image: Title: VestagerThe European Commission handed down a preliminary decision that a Bulgarian state-owned energy concern was breaching antitrust rules by blocking access to the gas supply infrastructure. It is also investigating breaches in Spain and Belgium. Margrethe Vestager, the commissioner in charge of competition policy, said: “We need to break down barriers so that EU citizens and businesses can enjoy more competitive energy prices and security of supply.” More inside.
Posted inFrom the Archive
European Commission Unveils Tax Transparency Package
Image: The European Commission has unveiled a package of legislative proposals that it hopes will hinder abusive tax practices and aggressive tax planning, by providing greater transparency on what companies pay and where. “Tolerance has reached rock bottom for companies that avoid paying their fair share of taxes, and for the regimes that enable them to do this,” said Pierre Moscovici, commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation, and Customs. More inside.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
British Regulator Slaps Bank of Beirut With A Hefty Fine
Image: Title: PhilippouBritish regulators are taking action after two former Bank of Beirut employees misled the Financial Conduct Authority about whether the bank had complied with orders to boost its financial crime protections. The bank was fined £2.1 million and is temporarily banned from “acquiring new customers from high-risk” locations. “We are reliant on compliance officers and internal audit to act as an important line of defense,” FCA Acting Director of Enforcement Georgina Philippou said. More inside.
Posted inTechnology
EU Data Supervisor Pushing Strengthened Privacy Laws
Image: Title: ButtarelliThe European Union’s Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli told officials in Washington that the EU’s ambitious overhaul of its data regulations will “place the individual more firmly at the heart” of technology, by boosting transparency and individual control. Buttarelli said the reforms will be backed by real teeth, with fines as much as 5 percent of global annual turnover. Details inside.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
EU Court Annuls European Location Policy for CCPs
The General Court of the European Union has overturned a European Central Bank framework requiring large central counterparties (CCPs) dealing with euro-denominated transactions to be located within the Eurozone. The court ruled that the ECB lacked the authority to require CCPs involved in clearing securities to be located within the Eurozone, saying the ECB does not have autonomous regulatory competence for all clearing systems under current law. More inside.
Posted inEthics & Culture
U.K. Financial Regulator Boosting Individual Accountability, Audit Rules
Image: Title: BaileyThe U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority says individual senior managers of financial firms could face sanctions if a breach occurs in their area of responsibility and it’s proven the manager took no reasonable steps to avoid it. “Our new accountability regime will hold all senior managers, including non-executive directors, to a clear standard of behavior, and we will take action where they fail to meet this,” Bank of England CEO Andrew Bailey said. Details inside.
Posted inUncategorized
EU Agencies Slow to Implement Whistleblowing Policies
Image: Title: O’ReillyDespite a year-old mandate to implement internal whistleblowing rules, only the European Commission and the Court of Auditors have followed through, according to EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly. O’Reilly said, “The public needs to know that the EU institutions welcome whistleblowing and protect whistleblowers against retaliation to make sure that serious misconduct or wrongdoing in the EU administration are brought to light,” O’Reilly said. More inside.
Posted inAnti-Bribery
U.K. Fraud Office Loses Corruption Case, Owes £6M Legal Bill
Image: The Serious Fraud Office is facing a £6M legal bill after a judge dismissed a case in which the agency attempted to retry six people over an alleged fraud using a legal method known as “voluntary bill of indictment.” Justice Hickinbottom said, “Once the dismissal application had been formally notified … no reasonable prosecutor in the shoes of the SFO would have contested that application in the manner that the SFO in fact did.” Details inside.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Transparency Watchdog Calls for End to Money Laundering ‘Impunity’
Image: Title: UgazTransparency International is calling on governments around the world to join together to end money laundering. The group says authorities should make it their highest priority to prosecute individuals and banks for conducting illicit financial transactions. TI board chairman Jose Ugaz said the lack of senior management accountability “sends a signal to the corrupt individuals and corporations … that in this area there is impunity. This is wrong.” More inside.