CFTC fines Citi $1M for swap data reporting failures
Citibank will pay a $1 million penalty to resolve allegations of not properly reporting swap data to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and for violating the provisions of a 2017 order regarding those practices.
Biden’s pick to head OCC favors tighter regulation of FinTech
President Joe Biden’s nominee for Comptroller of the Currency, Cornell law professor Saule Omarova, continues a Democratic pattern of choosing potential regulators who believe in stricter control of the markets.
SEC brings first-ever actions enforcing 2016 municipal advisor rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Choice Advisors and two of its principals in its first enforcement actions under a non-solicitor municipal advisors rule that took effect in 2016.
Fed Chair Powell: Wells Fargo asset cap will remain in place
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wells Fargo’s asset cap will remain in place until the bank has “comprehensively” fixed its governance and compliance deficiencies.
OCC raps MUFG Union Bank for risk management deficiencies
MUFG Union Bank, which has entered into agreement to be acquired by U.S. Bank, received a cease-and-desist order from the OCC for “unsafe or unsound practices regarding technology and operational risk management.”
Swedbank CCO lauded for role in AML rebound to retire
Ingrid Harbo, Swedbank’s chief compliance officer during its ongoing recovery from a massive AML scandal, announced she will retire in March 2022.
MassMutual $4M fine a lesson in trader conduct oversight
A subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance agreed to pay $4 million after apparently missing nearly two years’ worth of red flags by one of its broker-dealers that turned out to be a driving force behind the GameStop stock trading craze.
German AML deficiencies in spotlight ahead of election
A recent raid by German prosecutors of the country’s finance and justice ministries has once again put a spotlight on Germany’s apparent failings in tackling financial crime.
Elizabeth Warren urges Fed break up ‘ungovernable’ Wells Fargo
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has called for federal banking regulators to break up Wells Fargo, saying “every new report of scandal and ongoing noncompliance” proves the bank is “ungovernable.”
Bank of America names compliance head amid leadership shakeup
As part of a host of senior management changes, Bank of America has named Amy Littman to be its new head of global compliance and operational risk.
OCC fines Wells Fargo $250M for continued risk management failings
Wells Fargo Bank has been ordered to pay $250 million related to deficiencies in its home lending loss mitigation program in addition to violations of a 2018 consent order, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced.
Survey: New SEC marketing rule leads investment adviser compliance concerns
Implementing the SEC’s new “marketing rule” for investment advisers tops the list of concerns among chief compliance officers in the industry, according to new research.
Credit Suisse appoints Rafael Lopez Lorenzo as chief compliance officer
Credit Suisse has named Rafael Lopez Lorenzo as its chief compliance officer, five months removed from his predecessor stepping down in the wake of massive losses caused by the collapses of Archegos Capital Management and Greensill Capital.
Hedge fund manager/CCO sentenced 4 years for ‘Ponzi-like’ scheme
Jason Rhodes, the co-founder and chief risk and compliance officer of a Connecticut-based investment fund, was sentenced to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $25 million in restitution for his role in a “Ponzi-like” scheme.
Adrienne Harris nominated to lead NYDFS
The new head of New York’s Department of Financial Services is expected to be Adrienne Harris, who was nominated to the post by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
SEC sanctions 8 over email breaches
The Securities and Exchange Commission penalized eight firms across three separate actions for breaches of employee email accounts that exposed the personal information of thousands of customers in each case.
Romanian bank penalized over Iran and Syria sanctions lapses
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined Romania-based First Bank and its U.S. parent company JC Flowers & Co. $862,318 as part of a settlement for First Bank’s processing of transactions in apparent violation of Iran and Syria sanctions.
Banking guidance: Six key areas of FinTech due diligence
Three federal banking regulators have released guidance offering tips and suggestions to community banks for conducting due diligence on potential FinTech partners.
Weathering the storm: Why FinTech compliance failures persist
Experts weigh in with their thoughts on why FinTechs and cryptocurrency firms continue to have a bad reputation in terms of compliance.
OFAC fines Bank of China $2.3M for Sudan sanctions violations
The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced Bank of China’s U.K. arm agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle its potential civil liability for processing transactions in apparent violation of now-repealed Sudan sanctions regulations.
What went wrong at Greensill Capital? Former risk chief shares his view
Brett Downes, the chief risk officer at Greensill Capital for five years before the company filed for insolvency, explains what factors he believes led to the supply chain finance startup’s abrupt collapse.
Challenge to SEC’s Bank Secrecy Act authority backed by ex-FinCEN leadership
A brokerage firm petitioning the Supreme Court to review the power of the SEC to enforce the Bank Secrecy Act has received support from two former officials of the primary agency tasked with overseeing the AML law.
Rebuilding Credit Suisse nominates risk management veterans to board
In a continuing overhaul of its risk and compliance leadership, Credit Suisse announced the nominations of Axel Lehmann and Juan Colombas to serve as non-executive members of its board.
FINRA notice outlines key areas for supervising third parties
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued a notice on compliance deficiencies arising from firms’ relationships with vendors culled from examination findings.
ICA roundtable: Five tips for filing more effective SARs
A recent roundtable explored the anxieties compliance officers face in filing suspicious activity reports and offered advice for overcoming such difficulties.
Westpac warned over continued AML failings
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand issued a formal warning to Westpac’s New Zealand branch for failing to report certain transactions as required under local anti-money laundering regulations.
Crypto platform BitMEX to pay $100M for registration, AML violations
Cryptocurrency platform BitMEX has agreed to pay $100 million as part of a settlement with the CFTC and FinCEN for multiple violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering laws.
FinTech firm Plaid settles privacy lawsuit at $58M
Plaid has reached a $58 million settlement with a group of customers who claimed the FinTech company sold their bank transaction histories to third parties without their consent.
Hong Kong regulator fines UBS $1.5M for compliance failings
Hong Kong’s securities regulator fined Swiss bank UBS and a subsidiary a total of HK$11.55 million (U.S. $1.5 million) for various compliance failures.
EU guidance seeks to clarify role of AML/CFT compliance officers
The European Banking Authority is seeking comment on new draft guidelines that set clear expectations regarding the appointment, role, tasks, and responsibilities of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism compliance officers.
The importance of transaction monitoring, and the cost of getting it wrong
Transaction monitoring has evolved to the point where the emphasis is now on the requirement firms carry out ongoing monitoring of client relationships. Recent enforcement actions provide lessons on pitfalls to avoid.
Allianz bracing for financial hit amid DOJ scrutiny
Insurance giant Allianz disclosed it could face enforcement resulting from Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission probes into its Structured Alpha Funds business.
Report: Deficient risk culture at Credit Suisse contributed to Archegos collapse
An independent report commissioned by Credit Suisse to examine the bank’s failures that led to $5.5 billion in losses when Archegos Capital Management collapsed this year concluded a series of missteps by risk and compliance failed to escalate numerous red flags.
OCC appoints first climate change risk officer
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has appointed Darrin Benhart as its first climate change risk officer—a move in line with the agency’s plans to better develop effective climate risk management practices at banks.
Credit Suisse hires Goldman Sachs veteran as chief risk officer
Credit Suisse Group has appointed longtime Goldman Sachs risk management expert David Wildermuth as its chief risk officer.
SEC charges 27 financial firms for Form CRS delivery lapses
The Securities and Exchange Commission levied penalties totaling $910,092 across settlements with 21 investment advisers and six broker-dealers for failing to timely file and deliver Form CRS to retail investors.
OFAC fines Payoneer $1.4M for sanctions violations
Money transfer services company Payoneer will pay $1.4 million to resolve 2,260 apparent violations of U.S. sanctions in a settlement with the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
UBS unit to pay $8M for ETP compliance failures
UBS Financial Services agreed to pay more than $8 million as part of an SEC settlement for allegedly failing to adopt adequate policies and procedures regarding a certain exchange-traded product.
FCA pledge to be more assertive rings hollow amid enforcement drops
A steady decrease in enforcement activity makes it easy to question whether the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority is in position to become the “more innovative, assertive, and adaptive regulator” it pledges to be.
Compliance allegedly ignored in LendingClub $18M FTC settlement
FinTech firm LendingClub has agreed to pay $18 million in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for deceiving loan applicants about hidden fees that its compliance department allegedly warned it about.
New bank guidance expands on advice for handling third parties
Three federal banking regulators are seeking public input on the first comprehensive update to risk management guidance for financial institutions entering into business relationships with third parties since 2013.
TIAA subsidiary to pay $97M over wealth advisory sales practices
A subsidiary of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America has agreed to pay $97 million to settle charges of inaccurate and misleading statements and failing to adequately disclose conflicts of interest regarding employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Credit Suisse creates new risk role to prevent next Archegos
Credit Suisse has named Amélie Perrier to a new senior executive position to track the trading positions of its largest customers after the bank lost $4.7 billion in the aftermath of the collapse of Archegos Capital Management.
Binance enhancing compliance after recent U.K. ban
The CEO of cryptocurrency platform Binance touted the company’s growing commitment to compliance after one of its units was banned from operating in the United Kingdom.
Robinhood Crypto anticipates $10M penalty for cyber, AML failures
Robinhood Markets said its cryptocurrency platform might face a penalty of “at least” $10 million from the New York State Department of Financial Services for anti-money laundering and cyber-security failures.
FinCEN eyes no-action letters as aid for FinTech rollouts
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will launch rulemaking for a no-action letter process that would give financial institutions another way to enter dialogue with the regulator about innovative and newly emerging technologies.
Takeaways from NYDFS ransomware guidance
The New York State Department of Financial Services has issued guidance for regulated entities describing best practices for reducing the risk of a ransomware attack.
Charles Schwab sets aside $200M in SEC robo-advisory probe
Charles Schwab disclosed in a regulatory filing it expects to pay $200 million to resolve a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation concerning its robo-advisory business.
Credit Suisse entities to pay $1.5M for swap data reporting failures
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission reached a $1.5 million settlement with three entities of Credit Suisse for swap data reporting failures caused by a technical error.
Compliance implications of Robinhood’s record $70M FINRA fine
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ordered Robinhood Financial to pay a record-breaking $70 million in penalties, the result of “systemic supervisory failures in several critical parts of its business.” The firm must retain a compliance consultant, among other enhancements.