Is it safe to trust the machines?
Bank algos may superficially appear to be well-tested – but the process may be open to any number of unexpected flaws, according to Steve Wilcockson, industry manager at big data specialist firm MathWorks.
Bank algos may superficially appear to be well-tested – but the process may be open to any number of unexpected flaws, according to Steve Wilcockson, industry manager at big data specialist firm MathWorks.
A new mobile voice recording service is being developed by UK tech company Voxsmart, which it claims is the first to automatically capture every type of communication on a mobile device so that it can be used for trading compliance purposes, including the FCA in the UK and Dodd-Frank in the US.
The No. 1 barrier to consumer adoption of flexible spending accounts (FSAs) has been removed. The U.S. Treasury and IRS on Halloween announced they were changing their stance on the so-called “use-or-lose” rule, enabling consumers for the first time to rollover up to $500 from their FSAs instead of forfeiting those funds back to their employers.
MiFID II is almost upon us. Expect it to be the topic of conversation very soon. So what do you need to know about it?
Change is coming to the prepaid card industry, whether by regulation or legislation, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray promised lawmakers this week at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, but he declined to provide a timetable. “[Prepaid cards] are one of the problem areas in consumer financial protection because they’re a hole in the […]
Conduct risk is gaining teeth, and with MiFID II on the way it’s set to gain a whole load more. But there is just one problem: nobody quite agrees on what conduct risk means or where its boundaries are set.
New OCC guidance reminds financial institutions that third-party oversight is where it’s at.
Compliance concerns are causing nearly one-third of banks to turn away business, according to a new report from Aite Group.
It’s unclear whether the prepaid industry will have the CFPB’s proposed rules for GPR cards by Dec. 31, or if the wait will extend into 2014.
ICAP and Interactive Data Corporation have begun a collaboration aimed at making pre-trade price information more easily available for institutional investors and risk managers.
Payroll card industry participants should brace for more potential negative news as lawmakers and plaintiffs’ attorneys around the U.S. continue fishing for outlier examples of payroll card abuse, observers say. The industry’s antennae shot up earlier this week when Pennsylvania lawmakers followed through on an earlier promise and proposed legislation to ban payroll cards. Separately, […]
Clear and effective legislation could result in a beneficial change for business. An unclear and ineffective one would result in another obstacle to a “further integrated and efficient European payments market,” which the commission has set as the first objective the Payments Package should achieve.
Two House Democrats have proposed measures to crack down on money laundering by deterring the use of shell corporations and giving regulators the authority to hold bank executives accountable for misconduct taking place on their watch. The first bill, proposed by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), would strengthen the government’s ability to charge individuals with violations […]
A law prohibiting surcharges on certain types of payments should apply to mobile carriers, an adviser to the EU’s Court of Justice told the Austrian Supreme Court, which is currently deliberating an appeal by T-Mobile after the carrier’s surcharges were ruled illegal by lower Austrian courts. The case stems from a lawsuit filed by a […]
Firms like JP Morgan and HSBC have taken major measures to improve internal controls so that they can comply with new and changing regulations. It won’t end there.
With new regulations on remittance transfers set to take effect next week, the CFPB laid out its standards for examining companies covered by the rules. In Jan. 2012, the CFPB issued its final rule outlining remittance regulations as set by the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule was revised in May 2013 after complaints from industry participants […]
The European Central Bank (ECB) is calling the next three months critical for stakeholders still needing to migrate to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) for electronic payments transactions. The deadline for migration to SEPA credit transfer (SCT) and SEPA direct debit (SDD) schemes is Feb. 1, 2014. “Everybody has to be ready . . […]
Traders, research teams and corporate broking teams all need to communicate, but as regulation imposes ever-stricter ‘Chinese walls’ within banks and brokers that is getting more difficult. Investing in internal communication tools can make a big difference, according to Simon Bailey, director and head of IT and operations at British investment banking and stockbroking firm Numis Securities.
Geopolitical shifts and increasing protectionism among nations will mean that the universal banking model is no longer sustainable – and there is little that anyone can do, according to Bill Michael, EMA head of financial services at KPMG. “The future shape of banking is beyond the control of boards, individual regulators or countries alone,” Michael […]
One may speculate that with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic party having secured a quite remarkable third term in office, the last in a long line of potential hurdles for the advocates of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) in Europe has been overcome
A group of like-minded companies came together this summer to address the recent melee in payroll cards. The work is far from over, but their activity points to the power of pooling resources and relationships for real progress and impact.
The credit card industry has largely cleaned up its act in the four years since sweeping new federal rules took effect, though some concerns remain, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concluded this week. The CFPB’s 102-page report on the impact of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act) passed in 2009 found […]
Crowdfunding—a term used for a group of people pooling their money, typically through Websites, to support projects—is being used to help finance everything from films to NFC-enabled jewelry.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday hosted a Banking on Campus Forum in Washington, D.C., as part of its ongoing investigation into campus cards. Some college students said they feel pressured into using specific financial products—which can include student ID cards that double as debit or prepaid cards and are used to access scholarships and […]
What do hundreds-of-thousands of counterparties, dozens of regulations and your many regulators all want from you? Better counterparty classification …
Dissatisfaction with global regulators has been expressed during the entire Sibos week, with the topic being raised in sessions across the board.
As the focus on operational risk increases, Nicholas Pratt discovers that the greatest threats to a bank’s security lie outside of its four walls
A three-hour trading crash at Nasdaq OMX caused by a connectivity issue has once again put the spotlight on trading technology and the resilience of financial markets, which have been sorely tested in recent months and years.
A fragmented data architecture can threaten a financial institution’s ability to keep track of its assets. All too often, front office systems are separated into individual asset classes and lines of business, making the integration of the transaction flows from these systems very difficult.
As the world’s banks continue to struggle with severe regulatory change, economic turbulence and technological evolution, a new report by analyst firm Tabb Group says that financial institutions will have to provide immediate, friction-free access to content, community and execution, or face extinction.
A U.S. District Judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Federal Reserve Board overreached in its interchange and network routing rulemaking. If upheld, the decision will have huge consequences for issuers, program managers and other payments stakeholders.
The US Securities & Exchange Commission is often accused of using skateboards to chase Ferraris in its attempts to keep up with trading houses, but less than a year after announcing that it intended to create a new market surveillance system – and six months after going live with it – its cloud-based approach is […]
By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor The cost of complying with anti-money laundering (AML) rules and requirements is rising, just as the expansion of related anti-bribery and corruption laws around the world is placing unique new demands on global financial organizations, according to a new survey. International banks are devoting more personnel, departmental resources and […]
Whether or not the coalition government succeeds in implementing all of its proposals remain to be seen but undoubtedly the transformation of the banking sector – across all levels – is most certainly underway …
If your role has anything to do with governance, risk and compliance or with international tax agreements, then you’ll be familiar with the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the potential impact on many of the world’s financial institutions …
With six months before the 4th Capital Requirements Directive comes into force, many will be asking what technological improvements will be necessary to efficiently manage risk going forward. Before they embark on a costly overhaul of their data systems, firms should look at what regulatory trends are likely to require similar changes in the future and adjust their specification accordingly.
With lots of different regulatory benchmark efforts now underway, the industry could be forgiven for not taking a common stance. With IOSCO issuing final principles, ESMA and the EBA are simultaneously consulting on a European set of principles. Meanwhile the UK is moving ahead with its own reforms.
The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) again is urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to prohibit overdraft on prepaid products and limit the ways in which credit and prepaid may be associated.
Patrice Peyret of Banking Up responds to a front-page article in the New York Times, “Paid via Card, Workers Feel Sting of Fees.”
Uncertainty over the mechanism for calculating the Libor benchmark in future remains in the wake of the generally applauded appointment of NYSE Euronext as its new administrator.