Global Glimpses

New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority, the government agency responsible for financial regulation, on Aug. 9 set out its work plan for the year ahead, as the conduct and culture of the country's financial services industry comes under increased scrutiny.  

In an as-yet unreleased—officially, at any rate—letter, the EU’s industry and climate commissioners Miguel Cañete and Elźbieta Bieńkowska outline evidence of widespread manipulation in the car industry of new emissions tests, known as the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).

The European Commission on July 24 fined four consumer electronics makers for imposing fixed or minimum resale prices on their online retailers in breach of EU competition rules. The more than €111 million in fines were in all four cases significantly reduced due to the companies' cooperation with the Commission. 

The European Commission has fined Google €4.34 billion (U.S. $5.05 billion) for breaching EU antitrust rules.

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office announced that a warrant for the arrest of the CEO of Luxembourg-based Eurasian Resources Group has been issued over his failure to appear for questioning in an ongoing corruption investigation.

Nissan apologized Monday after uncovering—as part of a check of emissions and fuel economy tests within its final production process—it had falsified data at all but one of its Japanese vehicle production plants.

U.K. Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Kevin Hyland has issued an ultimatum to the government to get moving on setting up a central, state-owned registry for corporate modern slavery statements that he wants in place before he leaves office.

Several consumer advocacy groups in the United States are urging the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to investigate what they say are “misleading and manipulative tactics” by Google and Facebook in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Harley-Davidson plans to shift production of its motorcycles for EU destinations out of the United States to its international facilities to avoid the EU’s retaliatory tariffs, providing a glimpse into the broader cost implications that the trade war is expected to have on global companies.

The European Commission adopted on June 20 a regulation putting in place the EU’s rebalancing measures in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. The measures will immediately target a list of products worth €2.8 billion (U.S. $3.2 billion) and will come into effect on June 22.

German authorities on Wednesday fined Volkswagen a total of €1 billion (U.S. $1.2 billion) resulting from the company’s long-running emissions-cheating scandal.

Jeremy Wright, the Attorney General for England and Wales, on June 4 named Lisa Osofsky as the new director of the Serious Fraud Office.

Privacy advocates wasted no time filing numerous complaints against a handful of technology companies, including Facebook and Google, for violations of the EU’s General Data Protection regulation, which came into force May 25.

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office has brought further charges in relation to the Unaoil investigation, this time against two individuals facing trial.

Barclays Bank received some good news this week when a U.K. court threw out criminal charges relating to its decade-old fundraising deals in Qatar.

In response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal, the European Commission on May 18 announced steps to preserve the interests of European companies investing in Iran and to demonstrate the EU’s commitment to the deal.

In an effort to stem the tide of money-laundering activites in Britain's 14 Overseas Territories (including the British Virgin Islands), the U.K. parliament accepted a cross-party amendment to the Sanctions and AML Bill that will force the territories to set up public registers of beneficial ownership. 

TSB bank, formerly Britain’s most recommended high street bank, has fallen into disgrace, primarily for recent noteworthy mishaps surrounding a technology migration.

The U.K. Financial Conduct has published its second industry feedback report on its 5 Conduct Questions, a key component of its wholesale banking supervision. The new report, the FCA said, includes details on “how banks can encourage staff in front, middle, and back office, and control/support functions, to be responsible for managing conduct of their business.”

The European Union and Mexico reached a new agreement on trade, as part of a broader, modernized EU-Mexico Global Agreement. Practically all trade in goods between the EU and Mexico will now be duty-free, including in the agricultural sector.

Now is the time, FCA chief Andrew Bailey said, for the U.K. and EU authorities to jointly work on solutions to reduce the risks to financial stability that Brexit could pose.

Complaints about payment protection insurance (PPI) created a significant spike in the number of complaints made to financial services firms in the second half of 2017, according to recent figures published by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, serving as a warning to the broader financial services industry about the future of the mis-selling scandal.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre released a joint Technical Alert concerning malicious cyber-activity carried out by the Russian government, marking the first time these the United States and Europe have issued joint advice to industry about how to manage the risks from an attack.

With the U.K.’s deadlines for gender pay reporting having passed, we examine what consequences those that haven’t reported might face and take a look at some results conducted by an independent analytics firm.

Africa Railways Logistics Limited has been debarred by the World Bank Group for two years after an employee attempted to improperly influence the customs and port clearance process for locomotives that were part of two investment projects by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, marking the World Bank Group’s first debarment related to an IFC investment.