Eventus Systems, a US-based provider of data processing and analysis solutions, has signed UBS Securities for its flagship Validus risk and surveillance platform. Mark Holder, global co-head of electronic trading at UBS, says Eventus and Validus offered “impressive capabilities that strengthen our current platform”. The implementation has just begun. “Validus is going to bring a […]
The introduction of the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) requires a rethink when it comes to risk architecture and data requirements. Xavier Dubois, Wolters Kluwer’s senior risk and finance specialist for EMEA, outlines the key points. There is an area of complete agreement when it comes to examining the potential impact of FRTB – […]
Finland-based Aktia Bank is implementing Accuity’s Global WatchList to provide regulatory sanctions and other compliance data. The solution covers politically exposed persons (PEPs), companies, vessels, goods, countries and payment information. Accuity says that Aktia’s decision to sign for the Global WatchList was driven by the compliance needs and the need to improve the efficiency of […]
Europe is the largest single market in the world and an attractive proposition for most payments businesses looking to expand, but you do need to look at the different options available and determine the best route to market for your own firm.
The CFPB’s new no-action letter policy is designed to alleviate regulatory uncertainty for innovative financial services businesses, but asking for one could be a double-edged sword.
This suit between a retailer and its insurance carrier highlights the importance of ensuring that any insurance coverage meant to account for costs and assessments stemming from a data breach is adequate.
FinCEN’s virtual currency guidance creates different AML standards for virtual currency and traditional funds, but with a slight modification the agency can “re-level” the playing field without compromising its AML policy goals.
Meredith Fuchs joins at least 45 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees who have left the bureau for the private sector since 2011.
Exactly who is affected as a result of the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB)? Xavier Dubois, senior risk and finance specialist for EMEA at Wolters Kluwer, explores the subject. Earlier year, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) set out the long awaited revised standards for minimum capital requirements for market risk. We […]
Equiniti Group has completed the purchase of Risk Factor and KYCnet. The acquisitions are part of Equiniti’s strategy of buying specialist technology platforms to provide regulation driven services for its clients. Last year it bought Transglobal Payment Solutions, while back in 2012 it acquired investment system supplier Peterevans. It also purchased a UK-based lending software […]
Make a note, 5th September 2017 has been unveiled as the industry target for the US to move from a T+3 to a T+2 settlement cycle. The decision on this has been reached by the US T+2 Industry Steering Committee (T+2 ISC), organised by The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and co-chaired by the […]
Despite some claims from the banking industry that small banks may be at a competitive disadvantage in a post-Durbin Amendment interchange environment, a new Philadelphia Fed report suggests that banks with less than $10 billion in assets have not suffered from the Durbin Amendment, which capped debit card interchange for larger financial institutions.
The aims of the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) may be laudable – but how much difference will some of the changes really make, other than create another operational burden? As Tracy Dilks, senior consultant, and Akber Datoo, founder and managing partner, D2 Legal Technology, suggest, the regulator might as well put a sign in […]
The CFPB has hit online payments provider Dwolla with an enforcement action over what the agency describes as misleading claims the company made about customers’ data security and the risks of using Dwolla’s online system. The action is the CFPB’s first enforcement related to a data security issue, the agency said.
A Turkish man pled guilty Tuesday in a federal court in Brooklyn to planning and leading cyber-attacks that swiped $55 million from ATMs around the world.
Can applying semantics make BCBS 239 reporting consistent and comparable across all regulatory bodies? Rupert Brown explores the options when best practice isn’t good enough… Regulatory vagaries and the punitive fines make these tense times for bank risk officers. On the one hand, regulators are asking for a whole lot of architectural work to be […]
The CFPB’s latest consumer complaint report is out, and this month the agency took a closer look at prepaid-related complaints. Even though the agency says prepaid complaints “spiked in recent months,” such complaints continue to comprise a small fraction of the issues brought to the bureau’s attention.
As the CFPB prepares to release its final rule on prepaid accounts—expected this month—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) is urging the agency to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on how the rule would affect government benefits cards and potentially increase taxpayer costs.
The recently proposed data-transfer pact between the U.S. and European Union has come under fire from critics, including privacy activists and some EU lawmakers, who claim the deal fails to adequately protect EU citizens from surveillance by American intelligence agencies.
Financial institutions need to determine how to comply with the least disruption and cost in the short time frames provided. Image courtesy of Datameer. Click on picture to enlarge or use zoom feature within browser. Or you can read the PDF here.
As financial institutions across the board gear up for 2016, the year ahead poses some notably regulatory challenges. Not least among these is the impending Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) from the European Commission; there will also be further progress on MiFID II. On 3 July this year, an event will take place which will mark […]
As the European Commission finally confirms an implementation date for MiFID II, Volker Lainer of GoldenSource explains why now is the time for financial institutions adopting a quick fix approach to regulation to reconsider. After waiting and wondering, financial institutions finally have a firm date of January 3rd 2018 for MiFID II compliance. Whether this […]
Apple will testify tomorrow before the House Judiciary Committee on encryption amid its fight with the FBI over creating software to hack an iPhone of one of the terrorists responsible for the December attacks in San Bernardino, Calif. Fellow tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter, are expected to file amicus briefs in support of Apple’s decision not to comply with a court order demanding that Apple comply with the FBI’s request.
Distributed ledgers have a role to play in identity verifications, but there are potential pitfalls, state Professor Michael Mainelli and Vinay Gupta. They are increasingly touted as the answer to the identity problems plaguing finance and government. They may well be part of the answer, but more important is recognising they are only tools to help […]
The Payment System Regulator (PSR), a government body created to oversee the payment systems industry in the U.K., is calling for the major banks to sell a part of their stakes in U.K.-based payments provider VocaLink, which it claims will create more fertile ground for innovation and competition.
London-based Calastone, the global funds transaction network, has launched Data Services, a market intelligence solution for fund managers. Calastone says that MiFID II, the European regulatory framework designed to “improve the transparency and oversight of financial markets”, is moving responsibility to understand the distribution chain from distributors and platform providers to fund managers. Rob Swan, […]
The CFPB wants the nation’s top banks to offer consumers more lower-risk account choices. That could be good news for the prepaid card industry even as some might grumble about the agency meddling in their affairs.
With recent legislation calling for increased cooperation between companies and government agencies to combat potential cyberthreats, officials are asking financial institutions to include information such as IP and bitcoin wallet addresses in suspicious activity reports (SARs).
Following a new privacy shield agreement, which upon approval will replace an expired Safe Harbor pact between the U.S. and the EU Commission, European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli last week said he supported the agreement.
A Wendy’s customer has filed a class action complaint against the fast food chain for its alleged failure to protect consumers’ credit and debit card information.
MoneyGram agrees to pay $13 million to settle claims that criminals used its network for fraudulent transactions. The company also will increase its anti-fraud activities.
A year after the Federal Reserve announced a plan to enhance the speed, safety and efficiency of payments in the U.S., the program has made substantial progress, the Fed reports.
Oh the irony. On the same day President Barack Obama and his administration presented plans to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity, the IRS announced an attack on its Website.
A U.K. government panel is calling for the development of an open banking standard that will enable banking data to be shared and used securely, giving consumers access to tailored financial solutions and an easier way to compare products and services.
Bitcoin continues to encounter hurdles as its supporters try to facilitate the digital currency’s mainstream acceptance. Though certain states and countries are welcoming bitcoin, or permitting it with certain provisos, Russia is considering a ban.
There’s one challenge that regulators seem unable to address, and that is regulation itself. Today’s evolving regulatory environment seems to be beset by a range of internal contradictions. One such contradiction is the banks’ decision to act as clearing providers for derivatives businesses.
The CFPB announced today a three-prong approach to ensure consumers are receiving a fair shake regarding checking account access. But what may surprise many in the prepaid industry is that the agency also is providing information to consumers about the prepaid option.
Shortly after the original deadline to reach an agreement expired on Sunday, the EU Commission and the U.S. have agreed to a new Safe Harbor deal. The new framework will protect the fundamental rights of Europeans when their data are transferred to the U.S. and ensure legal certainty for businesses, according to an EU Commission announcement.
European Union leaders are calling for tighter regulation of prepaid cards and virtual currencies to restrict terrorist financing and anonymous payments. The European Commission—the executive arm of the EU—also said it will consider launching an intra-EU version of a transaction monitoring agreement that has since 2010 helped detect the movement of funds by terrorists between the U.S. and EU.
Prepaid cards continued to comprise just a tiny percentage of the consumer complaints received by the CFPB, according to the agency’s latest monthly complaint “snapshot” report. During the month of December 2015, the CFPB received a total of 230 prepaid-related complaints (out of 20,388 total complaints), down 11 percent from the 257 complaints it received in November.
