Financial Services


Michael Barr

‘Textbook case of mismanagement’: Regs point blame at SVB for collapse

2023-03-28T20:26:00+01:00By

Banking regulators defended their supervisory actions and pledged to find answers as to what went wrong when discussing the factors leading to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank before the Senate Banking Committee.

Binance

Ex-Binance CCO accused of aiding and abetting CFTC rule violations

2023-03-27T21:26:00+01:00By

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission charged Binance and its founder with operating an illegal digital assets exchange, while former Chief Compliance Officer Samuel Lim faces charges of aiding and abetting the alleged misconduct.

SVB dominoes

Leadership, resource support key to compliance navigating bank turmoil

2023-03-27T18:59:00+01:00By

In sudden bank buyouts, the workload on compliance departments skyrockets as new customers are nearly instantly assumed by the purchasing bank. Experts share their take on managing the resulting risks.

Silicon Valley Bank2

First Citizens to acquire deposits and loans of failed SVB

2023-03-27T16:44:00+01:00By

The deposits and loans of the failed Silicon Valley Bank have been purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust, although about $90 billion in securities and other assets will remain in receivership.

Digital banking

Fed details Custodia Bank membership rejection over risk deficiencies

2023-03-24T20:34:00+00:00By

The Federal Reserve Board further expounded on the risk management deficiencies it found at Custodia Bank as part of the digital-first bank’s application to become a member of the Federal Reserve System.

Cash App

Report alleges Block’s Cash App facilitates fraud, disregards AML laws

2023-03-24T16:35:00+00:00By

Investment research firm Hindenburg Research accused financial technology payment company Block of facilitating money laundering, fraud, and scams on its platform.

Bank confusion

Experts: Fraud risks heightened amid banking turmoil

2023-03-23T00:21:00+00:00By

The stunning, rapid collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, fueled in its final days by droves of panicked depositors seeking funds, likely added to the chaos within the bank and ratcheted up the risk of fraud, according to legal experts.

Janet Yellen

Yellen says regs might cover deposits of other struggling banks

2023-03-21T19:05:00+00:00By

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said federal regulators are willing to extend the same financial assistance—perhaps even extended deposit insurance—to mid-sized banks struggling to handle the fallout from the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

Joe Biden

Biden calls for banking exec clawbacks amid failures

2023-03-20T19:23:00+00:00By

President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to “do more to hold senior bank executives accountable” since the market turmoil that has followed the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

Credit Suisse

‘Crisis of confidence’ leads Credit Suisse to merger with UBS

2023-03-20T18:14:00+00:00By

Credit Suisse will merge with UBS in a move approved by Swiss banking regulators after a proposed cash injection from the Swiss National Bank failed to stabilize Credit Suisse’s rapidly declining finances.

Danske Bank

Danske Bank to name audit exec new chief compliance officer

2023-03-20T15:55:00+00:00By

Danske Bank will appoint Chief Audit Executive Dorthe Tolborg to serve as its chief compliance officer after current CCO Satnam Lehal announced he would depart the bank in early 2024.

Silicon Valley Bank sign

Where will regulators turn following SVB, Signature Bank failures?

2023-03-17T15:57:00+00:00By

Small and mid-sized banks can expect more regulatory scrutiny in the aftermath of the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, according to legal experts. The time to prepare is now.

Fed2

​Fed governor teases new TPRM guidance for banks

2023-03-17T14:37:00+00:00By

The Federal Reserve and other U.S. banking agencies are working to develop joint guidance to clarify regulatory expectations around third-party risk management, according to Fed Governor Michelle Bowman.

Sterling Bank

Sterling Bank spared fine, to pay $27.2M in restitution under DOJ plea deal

2023-03-16T20:21:00+00:00By

Sterling Bancorp pleaded guilty to falsifying securities statements prior to and following a 2017 initial public offering and will pay approximately $27.2 million in restitution, the Department of Justice announced.

Binary

CFPB eyeing data broker practices in planned rulemaking push

2023-03-16T17:06:00+00:00By

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is asking companies that “track and collect information on people’s personal lives” to provide information to the agency as it considers rulemaking under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Wells Fargo sign

Ex-Wells Fargo exec fined $17M for role in fake accounts scandal

2023-03-16T15:36:00+00:00By

Carrie Tolstedt, the former head of Wells Fargo’s community bank, will pay a $17 million fine issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for her role in the bank’s fake accounts scandal.

smarsh300x200

CPE Webcast: WhatsApp and off-channel communications: Lessons for the rest of us

2023-03-16T14:00:00+00:00Provided by Smarsh

The SEC and CFTC spent the latter part of 2022 issuing a series of exceptionally large enforcement actions against financial services firms over unapproved communications tools. Most of these actions stemmed from recordkeeping violations.

SEChq

​SEC proposes Reg S-P updates on incident response, breach notifications

2023-03-15T17:45:00+00:00By

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to its regulation requiring broker-dealers, investment companies, and registered investment advisers to establish policies and procedures to safeguard customer records and information.

3-15 390x260

CPE Webcast: Immersive Learning: A Revolutionary Way To Train Your Compliance Team

2023-03-15T11:00:00+00:00By Compliance Week

Get a taste of Compliance Week Training’s new instructor-led courses that provide the experience of a financial crime risk event unfolding in real time. Review scenarios used in the course, which simulates a real-life crisis you need to evaluate and resolve with your peers.

SEC office

Investment adviser fined $50K for compliance lapses following founder/CCO’s death

2023-03-14T20:22:00+00:00By

E. Magnus Oppenheim & Co. must pay $50,000 and hire an independent compliance consultant to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges of failing to implement compliance policies and procedures following the death of its founder and CCO.

Credit Suisse sign

Credit Suisse discloses ICFR ‘not effective’ in 2022

2023-03-14T19:47:00+00:00By

Credit Suisse Group disclosed in its annual report its internal control over financial reporting was “not effective” for the fiscal year ending December 2022.

Silicon Valley Bank2

Regulators on damage control following SVB, Signature Bank failures

2023-03-13T16:58:00+00:00By

The White House, Department of the Treasury, and other federal banking regulators swung into action over the weekend to prevent the failure of two banks with $264 billion in combined deposits from turning into a full-blown economic crisis.

Brasseur_opinion

Silicon Valley Bank risk chief gap glaring post-collapse

2023-03-13T16:58:00+00:00By

For eight months last year, Silicon Valley Bank went without an established chief risk officer. The ramifications of that decision are hard to ignore in the wake of the bank’s hasteful failure.

DOJ building

Ex-Goldman banker sentenced to 10 years for 1MDB fraud role

2023-03-10T20:40:00+00:00By

Former Goldman Sachs Managing Director Roger Ng was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the 1MDB fraud scandal.

Silicon Valley Bank

Silicon Valley Bank closed by banking regs after historic collapse

2023-03-10T20:22:00+00:00By

In the largest U.S. bank failure since 2008, Silicon Valley Bank was closed and its approximately $175 billion in deposits placed under control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Webull Financial

Webull fined $3M for failing to properly supervise automated trading system

2023-03-09T17:57:00+00:00By

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined broker-dealer Webull Financial $3 million for alleged failures related to customer due diligence and processing and reporting of customer complaints.

CFTC building

Energy broker Coquest fined by CFTC in block trade manipulation case

2023-03-09T17:43:00+00:00By

Energy broker Coquest, its owners, and trading affiliates agreed to pay a total of nearly $3 million to resolve allegations from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission the firm failed in its oversight responsibilities regarding more than 2,000 trades made against its customers.

SEC building

SEC fines broker-dealer $100K over SARs reporting failures

2023-03-06T20:16:00+00:00By

Cambria Capital agreed to pay $100,000, hire an independent anti-money laundering consultant, and be censured for failing to file suspicious activity reports on certain transactions over a two-year period, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Texas State Capitol

Anti-ESG fervor catching fire with Republican lawmakers

2023-03-02T17:28:00+00:00By

The blowback against environmental, social, and governance initiatives in investments and corporate strategies is quickly building momentum in conservative politics, with nearly two dozen states proposing bills that limit ESG investments.

Western District of New York

Ex-CCO gets three years in prison for wire fraud

2023-03-01T21:57:00+00:00By

A former chief compliance officer of an unnamed New York-based investment adviser was sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding clients and her employer.

Credit Suisse

FINMA: Credit Suisse ‘seriously breached’ duty regarding Greensill

2023-03-01T17:26:00+00:00By

Poor risk management by Credit Suisse’s asset management company kept the bank mostly unaware of the risky nature of lending procedures used by Lex Greensill that would lead to the collapse of Greensill Capital, according to Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority.

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SEC commissioners question best execution ruling in Huntleigh Advisors case

2023-02-28T17:48:00+00:00By

Huntleigh Advisors and affiliate Datatex Investment Services agreed to pay $893,502 to settle charges laid by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding failure to disclose conflicts of interest to their advisory clients over eight years.

GoldmanSachs

Probe into Goldman Sachs’ credit card practices expands

2023-02-27T17:28:00+00:00By

Goldman Sachs Group disclosed more regulators—beyond the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—are investigating its credit card account management practices.

Russia sanctions

OFAC imposes new sanctions to mark anniversary of Russia’s Ukraine invasion

2023-02-24T16:45:00+00:00By

The Office of Foreign Assets Control unveiled a slew of new sanctions against financial services firms and individuals that either support Russia’s war effort or have been judged to be undermining existing U.S. sanctions.

SEC office

SEC cites CCO error in HITE Hedge short selling case

2023-02-22T17:46:00+00:00By

Investment advisory firm HITE Hedge Asset Management and its private fund clients agreed to pay more than $220,000 to settle allegations the firm violated a Securities and Exchange Commission rule concerning short selling.

WellsFargo

Wells Fargo probed for employee use of off-channel communications

2023-02-22T16:02:00+00:00By

The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are investigating Wells Fargo regarding employees’ improper use of off-channel communications to conduct business and the bank’s recordkeeping of those communications.

Mormon church

Mormon church, investment manager pay $5M for misstating asset ownership

2023-02-21T20:32:00+00:00By

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its investment advisory firm agreed to pay a total of $5 million to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that both entities conspired to obscure the value of the church’s investments.

Raiffeisen

Raiffeisen confirms OFAC probe into Russia, Ukraine business

2023-02-21T20:07:00+00:00By

Raiffeisen Bank International said it received a request for information from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control regarding its business activities related to Russia and Ukraine.

OCC_Web

SEC, CFTC order Options Clearing Corp. to pay $22M over internal rule failures

2023-02-17T20:14:00+00:00By

Options Clearing Corp. agreed to pay $22 million as part of settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission addressing charges the company failed to comply with internal rules to manage risks.

SEC building

SEC proposes expansion of RIA custody rule

2023-02-15T22:24:00+00:00By

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed registered investment advisers be required to place nearly any asset, not just cash and securities, with qualified custodians, thereby expanding the scope of client assets.

Loans

Amigo Loans dodges $89M fine over IT system lending lapses

2023-02-14T19:46:00+00:00By

Amigo Loans faced a penalty of £72.9 million (U.S. $88.7 million) after the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority found it used automated decision-making to drive sales over ensuring whether customers posed credit risks.

Comerica Bank

Comerica pressured over handling of government program fraud claims

2023-02-14T16:00:00+00:00By

Comerica Bank has been battling allegations for years of mishandled fraudulent transactions in violation of U.S. federal banking laws. A series of class-action lawsuits against the bank recently certified by a federal district court judge provide scope into the alleged failings.

Barclays

Report: FCA probing Barclays over AML controls

2023-02-13T19:21:00+00:00By

Barclays Bank is reportedly being investigated by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority for failures regarding its anti-money laundering procedures and controls.

Bankatrisk

Banking regs set 2023 stress test scenarios

2023-02-10T18:16:00+00:00By

Banking regulators unveiled new stress test requirements for the largest financial institutions, including a series of hypothetical global market shocks six banks will be required to face.

Kraken

Kraken to pay $30M for unregistered crypto ‘staking’ product

2023-02-09T22:27:00+00:00By

The Securities and Exchange Commission slapped $30 million in penalties and fees on cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, part of the agency’s ongoing pushback against unregistered crypto products.

Societe Generale

Societe Generale says SEC probing employee off-channel comms

2023-02-09T18:43:00+00:00By

French bank Société Générale is the latest financial institution to be swept up in U.S. regulators’ crackdown on the use of personal cellphones and private apps by employees to conduct official business.

SECcrop

SEC exam report highlights Marketing Rule, Reg BI, private fund advisers

2023-02-08T21:13:00+00:00By

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2023 examination priorities report laid out areas under the microscope this year, including compliance with the agency’s Marketing Rule and Regulation Best Interest.

Treasury Department

Treasury report flags benefits, drawbacks to use of cloud services

2023-02-08T20:48:00+00:00By

The Treasury Department issued a report regarding the benefits and challenges associated with the use of cloud service providers by financial sector firms, finding shortcomings related to transparency, staff support, and cybersecurity incident response.

Digital banking

Anchorage Digital revamps BSA/AML compliance post-OCC consent order

2023-02-03T21:13:00+00:00By

Anchorage Digital unveiled moves to bolster its Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering compliance staff less than a year removed from being called out by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for deficiencies in the area.

Nicodemus_opinion

Allianz case questions if DOJ encouraging scapegoating in individual liability push

2023-02-02T19:21:00+00:00By

Is the Department of Justice’s focus on individual accountability in white-collar crime cases encouraging companies to scapegoat their employees? A recent court filing in a $6 billion corporate fraud case could give company officers some sleepless nights.