An international operation coordinated by France, with the support of Eurojust and Europol, has dealt an important blow to the Ragnar Locker ransomware group. In an action carried out between 16 and 20 October, searches were conducted in three different countries and in total six suspects were heard in the Czech Republic, Spain, Latvia and France. Furthermore, nine servers were taken down; five in the Netherlands, two in Germany and two in Sweden. The organised crime group is suspected of having committed attacks against 168 international companies worldwide since 2020. Continue reading…

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial market regulator and supervisor, has on 28 September published its work programme for 2024. In an economic context marked by high inflation, heightened geopolitical tensions and rapid technological changes, ESMA will ensure close market and risk monitoring and support the effective implementation of the European regulatory framework related to the digital and sustainability transitions. By fostering effective regulation and supervision of the European capital markets, ESMA contributes to addressing the challenges faced by the EU and its citizens. Continue reading…

In 2017, Equifax’s parent company, Equifax Inc, was subject to one of the largest cybersecurity breaches in history. Cyber-hackers were able to access the personal data of approximately 13.8 million UK consumers because Equifax outsourced data to Equifax Inc’s servers in the US for processing. The UK consumer data accessed by the hackers ranged from names, dates of birth, phone numbers, Equifax membership login details, partially exposed credit card details, and residential addresses. Continue reading…

by Steven Maijoor

It is a pleasure to be back in London. Back at the Bank of England. Back at the ‘Old Lady of Threadneedle Street’. The Old Lady that battles inflation, safeguards financial stability and firmly protects… the gold in her vaults. Gold that lies right here, under our feet. 400 000 bars of gold, to be precise. Today, I was invited to talk about a new type of gold – or, at least, to some it is. I am referring to crypto-assets. Something the Financial Stability Board has consistently been monitoring since 2018. For a long time, crypto-assets were an experiment on the fringes of the financial system. No shop owner would accept bits and bytes instead of cash or card. But soon, certain illicit online marketplaces got wind of this new digital asset: selling illegal services or products online had never been this easy. So, regulators and law enforcement agencies sprang into action and took coordinated action to combat money laundering. Nonetheless, in those early days, chances were very slim that someone had heard of bitcoin or ether, let alone owned them. For a long time, crypto assets were an experiment on the fringes of the financial system. But they have gone through rapid and turbulent developments since then and now even pose a potential risk to financial stability. That is why all over the world, new regulation has been introduced at a national level to better supervise crypto markets and activities. To promote consistency in those regulations and supervisory practices, the Financial Stability Board has developed a global framework of recommendations. While reducing the likelihood of regulatory arbitrage, this framework offers national regulators sufficient flexibility to take more incisive action, for example if warranted by emerging risks to monetary stability. Continue reading…

Luis de Guindos

I will start by giving you an overview of the economic outlook for the euro area before going on to look at how the ECB has adjusted its monetary policy to this outlook. I will then discuss in more detail the transmission of our monetary policy in the current environment and the sources of uncertainty that appear particularly relevant at this stage. Continue reading…

The Prosecutors General and Directors of Public Prosecutions of EU Member States have extensively discussed how to enhance the role of judicial authorities in joint operations against major organised crime via the EMPACT platform. This would mean involving public prosecutors at an earlier stage in the planning and coordination of operational actions. During their 17th Consultative Forum, held on the 5th and 6th of October at Eurojust, they were also given an update on the state of play of the judicial response to the war in Ukraine and debated the challenges of protecting the environment through criminal law. Continue reading…

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has on 3 October issued its progress update on the adoption of the Basel Framework. The update summary and monitoring dashboard set out the jurisdictional adoption status of the Basel III standards as of end-September 2023. They cover the Basel III post-crisis reforms published by the Committee in December 2017 and the finalised minimum capital requirements for market risk of January 2019. The implementation date for these reforms was 1 January 2023, as announced by the Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS) in March 2020. Continue reading…

As financial firms maneuver the continued fallout of recent bank failures, analytics and AI leader SAS is expanding its partnership with Microsoft to help banks better manage looming liquidity and interest rate risks. SAS® Asset and Liability Management (ALM), powered by Kamakura Risk Manager on Microsoft Azure, supports multi-period, scenario-based, integrated simulation and valuation for risk management, capital allocation and balance sheet optimization. Continue reading…

by Klaas Knot

Despite strong buffers, despite supervision, banks can go bankrupt. That’s all part of a healthy, dynamic, competitive banking sector. And in fact, at the current juncture, with interest rates having gone up – while justified to keep inflation in check – the risk of accidents is increasing. As the Americans say ‘Whenever the Fed hits the brakes, someone goes through the windshield.’ The problem is of course that a bank failure may threaten financial stability. Because of contagion, because banks are interconnected, and because of the vital role banks play in the economy. So one of the lessons from the Global Financial Crisis is that we – that is central banks, supervisors and the banks themselves – should be thoroughly prepared for a failure, if one happens. So that the bank can be laid to rest in an orderly way, and essential public functions can continue. Continue reading…

The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) have issued their Autumn 2023 Joint Committee Report on risks and vulnerabilities in the EU financial system. The Report underlines the continued high economic uncertainty. The ESAs warn national supervisors of the financial stability risks stemming from the heightened uncertainty, and call for vigilance from all financial market participants. Continue reading…