Fed wants real-time payments, settlements
The Federal Reserve is making an effort to develop a round-the-clock real-time payment and settlement service.
Swiss bank ignores compliance officer; pays $10.7M for tax evasion
A Swiss-based private bank reached a $10.7 million settlement and entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice for committing tax evasion after recommendations made by its compliance officer went ignored.
FDIC details credit and market risks
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation this week published its 2019 Risk Review, an annual publication highlighting emerging risks and exposures that could affect the banking system in the months ahead.
Capital One announces massive data breach
Capital One Financial announced a hacker obtained the personal information of approximately 100 million individuals in the United States and approximately six million individuals in Canada.
SEC: Transition from LIBOR has taken on ‘urgency’
Regulators are starting to freak out a little over what will happen in U.S. financial markets in 2021 when a major benchmark interest rate is expected to vanish.
FINRA issues clarifying guidance on ‘extraordinary cooperation’ credit
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has issued supplemental guidance clarifying how companies and individuals that demonstrate “extraordinary cooperation” in investigations can receive enforcement credit.
Agencies exclude community banks from the Volcker Rule
Five federal financial regulatory agencies announced this week they have adopted a final rule to exclude community banks from the Volcker Rule.
FDIC report: Five common consumer compliance issues
The FDIC recently issued the first edition of its “Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights” report, intended to enhance transparency around consumer compliance supervisory activities.
Hong Kong’s SFC bans former Goldman Sachs officer for life
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has banned Tim Leissner, a former participating managing director at Goldman Sachs (Asia), from re-entering the industry in connection with his crimes relating to 1MDB.
Study: Financial firms don’t know what they don’t know on climate risks
Financial institutions still struggle with how to manage risks posed by climate change, according to a new report.
Five ‘essential components’ of a sanctions compliance program
Chief compliance officers got some much-needed guidance on how to build a well-crafted sanctions compliance program thanks to the recent OFAC framework.
CECL in summer: Get ready for models, data, auditors
It may be summertime, but the living is not so easy for corporate finance staff preparing for CECL—a major change to the reporting of credit losses.
State Street to pay $88.8M for mutual fund overcharges
State Street will pay $88.8 million to resolve charges with the SEC that it overcharged mutual funds and other registered investment company clients for expenses related to the firm’s custody of client assets.
UBS compliance officer convicted of insider trading
A London Southwark Crown Court jury on June 27 convicted two individuals—a senior compliance officer of UBS and a day trader of financial securities—and sentenced them to three years’ imprisonment for insider trading.
FCA fines BOS over failure to report fraud suspicions
Bank of Scotland (BOS) has been slammed with a £45.5 million (U.S. $57.8 million) fine by the Financial Conduct Authority for failing to inform authorities of its suspicions that a BOS turnaround unit was committing fraud.
Wedbush to pay more than $8.1M for improper handling of ADRs
Wedbush Securities will pay more than $8.1 million to settle charges for the improper handling of “pre-released” American Depositary Receipts.
ICBC to pay more than $42M for improper handling of ADRs
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Financial Services will pay more than $42 million to settle charges with both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice for the improper handling of “pre-released” American Depositary Receipts.
FCA publishes final report on RBS
The Financial Conduct Authority has concluded its investigation into the Royal Bank of Scotland and published a final report of its findings.
Reps continue push for big bank diversity data
Members of the House Financial Services Committee have sent letters to 37 bank holding companies requesting their diversity and inclusion data.
Report says more companies address climate change, struggle with disclosures
A task force on climate-related financial disclosures found “encouraging progress” in its latest report, though there’s still work to be done when considering financial risks.
New bill sits on Senate agenda to block, study CECL
A new bill intended to block CECL is awaiting action in the Senate Banking Committee, much to the delight of big banks.
U.S., U.K. launch Financial Innovation Partnership
A newly formalized partnership between the United States and United Kingdom aims to embolden innovation in financial services.
FSB continues push for Legal Entity Identifiers
The United States is among the laggards when it comes to international identifying codes for financial entities.
FinCEN to financial institutions: Beware of Venezuelan money laundering
FinCEN recently alerted financial institutions of continued widespread public corruption in Venezuela and the methods Venezuelan senior political figures and their associates may use to move and hide proceeds of their corruption.
CFPB to provide more information to firms under investigation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says it will provide financial services firms under investigation more detail on what violations prompted the agency’s scrutiny.
FCA data shows firms with most consumer credit complaints
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority published its latest complaints figures for regulated firms for the second half of 2018, revealing how some financial services firms are receiving significantly more complaints than others.
UniCredit Group Banks to pay $1.3B for sanctions violations
UniCredit Group Banks will pay total financial penalties of approximately $1.3 billion for processing hundreds of millions of dollars of transactions through the U.S. financial system on behalf of an entity designated as a weapons of mass destruction proliferator and other Iranian entities subject to U.S. economic sanctions, the Department ...
FCA fines Goldman Sachs £34.3M for transaction reporting failures
Compliance officers in the financial services industry can learn a lot from the failings of Goldman Sachs, which was fined £34.3 million (U.S. $45 million) by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority for failing to provide accurate and timely reporting relating to 220 million transaction reports over a period of a ...
Troika Laundromat reveals the gaps in AML compliance
A recent report from several investigative journalists details the AML scandal behind Troika Dialog, once Russia’s largest private investment bank, and is just one small look into the much bigger problem of corruption across the globe.
Merrill Lynch to pay $8M for improper handling of ADRs
The Securities and Exchange Commission on March 22 announced that Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith will pay over $8 million to settle charges of improper handling of “pre-released” American Depositary Receipts.
Banks, central banks warned of crypto-currency risks and pitfalls
Despite failures, plummeting prices, and a plethora of risks, financial institutions and central banks are cautiously looking at ways to use virtual currencies. International regulators are warning them that doing so haphazardly could be disastrous.
Regulators’ top risk cop assailed by reform-bent critics
The Financial Stability Oversight Council was created to expose and mitigate systemic risks to the U.S. financial system. Its critics are winning the long-simmering battle to redefine its efforts.
FCA fines UBS £27.6M for transaction reporting failures
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has fined UBS £27.6 million (U.S. $36.6 million) for failings relating to 135.8 million transaction reports.
Critics scrutinize plans for revised Volcker Rule
Proposed rulemaking to ease the compliance burden of the Dodd-Frank Act’s controversial Volcker Rule might not be enough to appease everyone.
BB&T Securities to pay $5.7M for misleading clients
BB&T Securities has reached a $5.7 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that a firm it acquired misled its advisory clients.
Kate Murtagh on sustainable investment
Kate Murtagh, chief compliance officer at the Harvard Management Company, discusses the university’s three-pronged approach to sustainable investment with columnist Tom Fox.
FSOC seeks changes to nonbank designation guidance
The FSOC has released proposed interpretive guidance regarding nonbank financial firm SIFI designations. It would implement an “activities-based approach” to identifying potential risks to financial stability and provide an “off-ramp” to designated firms.
FTC proposes consumer data rule changes for financial institutions
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on proposed amendments to rules under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that protect the privacy and security of customer information held by financial institutions.