All Global Issues articles – Page 2

  • Blog

    EU non-financial reporting: directives and consultations

    2016-03-09T10:30:00Z

    The Non-Financial Reporting Directive requiring all member states to adopt legislation for public company non-financial reporting comes into force on 6 December 2014, giving EU member states two years to transpose it into national law. According to a European Commission impact assessment, those companies have a lot of work to ...

  • Article

    Gender pay gap reporting in the United Kingdom

    2016-03-02T13:00:00Z

    The draft regulations on reporting statistics outlining the potential gender pay gap at U.K. companies were published in early February this year, and reactions to the regulations have on the whole been positive, says Jillian Naylor, employment partner at U.K. law firm Linklaters. Inside, CW’s Paul Hodgson provides an in-depth ...

  • Blog

    Under Single Resolution Mechanism, EU banks get bail-in

    2016-02-24T12:00:00Z

    The European Union’s Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM), part of a larger post-financial crisis initiative known as the Bank Recovery and Resolution Drive (BRRD), has recently received further implementation. The advancement of SRM means that banks must have recovery plans, but EU-level authorities can intervene if they sense a bank is ...

  • Blog

    2015 Interactive Timeline: A Year of Transparency

    2016-01-20T14:45:00Z

    Whether it was the Swiss leaks scandal, the European Parliament’s formal adoption of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, or a movement to require multinational corporations to publicly report financial information on a country-by-country basis, 2015 was a year in which transparency became a watchword across Europe. Take a look at ...

  • Blog

    EBA Consults on Draft Guidelines on Implicit Support for Securitisation Transactions

    2016-01-20T13:45:00Z

    The European Banking Authority has launched a public consultation on draft guidelines on implicit support for securitisation transactions. The objective of the guidelines is to provide clarity on what constitutes arm’s length conditions and when a transaction is not structured to provide support for securitisations. The consultation runs until 20 ...

  • Article

    Year in Review: Regulatory Enforcement in Europe

    2016-01-05T11:00:00Z

    Image: For compliance officers in Europe, 2015 has been a big year. Aside from focusing on reporting wrongdoing and promoting a speak-up culture, watchdogs have been keeping compliance practitioners busy with a barrage of regulations that show no sign of easing. As compliance officers wonder to what degree the past ...

  • Article

    Lessons From the SFO’s First Deferred-Prosecution Agreement

    2015-12-15T12:30:00Z

    The U.K. Serious Fraud Office struck its first-ever deferred-prosecution agreement with Standard Bank in November, giving companies some much-needed guidance on how to disclose misconduct. The SFO’s decision to use DPAs is part of a larger undertaking to put a quick end to corporate criminal cases and encourage cooperation between ...

  • Article

    Compliance Officers Brace for U.K. Senior Managers Regime

    2015-11-03T12:00:00Z

    Image: During a panel discussion at Compliance Week’s Europe conference in Brussels last week, compliance executives discussed the broad implications of the new Senior Managers Regime, which makes senior executives personally accountable to regulators for their actions. You’ll also read a candid story of what a run-in with the Financial ...

  • Article

    Mending the Data Privacy Gaps of the EU Safe Harbor Ruling

    2015-10-27T14:15:00Z

    Image: Three weeks after Europe’s top court demolished the 15-year-old Safe Harbor Program to transfer personal data from Europe to the United States, thousands of U.S. companies that used the program are still scrambling to fill data privacy gaps. “To lean back and see how things play out is not ...

  • Article

    New U.K. Law Introduces U.S.-Style Class Actions

    2015-10-20T10:15:00Z

    Image: A change in British law is bringing American-style class-action lawsuits in cases where companies violate competition laws—something U.S. companies operating in Britain should keep in mind when implementing strategies to reduce antitrust risks. “It’s anticipated that there will be a lot more litigation in English courts going forward because ...

  • Article

    Data Security Impasse Overturns Safe Harbor Program

    2015-10-06T12:15:00Z

    An Austrian student’s displeasure with Facebook has invalidated the longstanding trans-Atlantic Safe Harbor program for international data transfers. That complaint, originally about Facebook’s alleged cooperation in U.S. government spying, has reached the highest court and Europe and overturned 15 years of data privacy rules. Companies are left with few viable ...

  • Article

    New U.K. Law Turns Up Heat on Human Trafficking Transparency

    2015-09-29T13:45:00Z

    Image: Companies doing business in the United Kingdom, take note: a new law in the country establishes new disclosure obligations about what you’re doing to tackle slavery and human trafficking in your operations, as well your supply chain. “Companies should start preparing to ensure compliance with the legislation as soon ...

  • Blog

    Google Facing Some Intense Heat in Europe

    2015-09-02T09:15:00Z

    Image: European companies may now find it easier to file potential damages suits against Google, thanks to an independent platform calling on individuals and entities to proffer any civil claims regarding Google’s anticompetitive behavior. The “Google Redress and Integrity Platform” comes at a time when Google is facing several investigations ...

  • Article

    The Global State of the Right To Be Forgotten

    2015-08-18T12:00:00Z

    More than a year after the EU established is right-to-be-forgotten principle, U.S. compliance professionals in the tech sector probably wish the decision itself could be forgotten, too. France is insisting that the principle be applied worldwide; even before that ever happens, compliance within Europe is laborious and complicated. Our latest ...

  • Article

    In London, Compliance Officers in the Crosshairs

    2015-06-23T15:45:00Z

    Recent cases in the United Kingdom suggest that prosecutors and regulators are increasingly willing to hold compliance officers personally liable as they wage war against corporate fraud. Inside, we look at the corruption charges brought by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office against Alstom SA and the Financial Conduct Authority’s case against ...

  • Article

    Anti-Corruption Reforms Push Forward in Mexico

    2015-06-23T10:30:00Z

    Mexico has moved forward again on its quest to strengthen anti-corruption laws there, adopting reforms to clear the path for government authorities to uncover and prosecute acts of corruption committed by companies, individuals, and government officials. More legislative work is ahead, but so far Mexico’s laws might even surpass the ...

  • Blog

    FCA Fines Compliance Officer £200,000 in ‘Death Bonds’ Case

    2015-05-27T11:30:00Z

    Image: Title: FordStewart Ford, CEO of now-defunct investment firm Keydata, has been hit with a record £75 million fine by the Financial Conduct Authority—one of the largest fines ever levied on an individual by the FCA. The British regulator also fined the firm’s sales director £4 million and its compliance ...

  • Blog

    Ireland’s Central Bank Hits Western Union with €1.75m in Fines

    2015-05-20T09:15:00Z

    Image: The Central Bank of Ireland levied €1.75m in fines on Western Union in Ireland after the firm failed to implement “robust” anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls. “The Central Bank action must be viewed in light of the inherent risks in the sector in which this firm operates … ...

  • Article

    Doing God’s Work: Compliance Reform at the Vatican Bank

    2015-05-19T11:30:00Z

    Image: The Istituto per le Opere di Religione, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, suffered for decades from poor internal controls and conduct. How has the Holy See tried to recover? Slowly, surely, and with a risk-based approach following international standards. “The expectations are huge in building trust and confidence, ...

  • Article

    Far East: The Epicenter of FCPA Enforcement?

    2015-05-05T14:30:00Z

    Image: Everyone says bribery risk is highest along the Pacific Rim, but how acute is the problem really? Pretty bad, according to a Compliance Week review of recent FCPA enforcement actions—and the risks will only increase as more U.S. companies enter Asia and more Asian companies tap U.S. capital markets. ...