Greater competition in retail banking is driving choice and lower prices for consumers and small businesses, despite the financial impact of the pandemic. In an update to its 2018 strategic review of retail banking, the FCA found that, while still strong, there are signs large banks’ historic advantages are starting to weaken, driven by digital innovation and changing consumer behaviour. The economic environment – in particular sustained low interest rates – has also constrained banks’ financial returns.      

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The European Union is filing today a case against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for restricting EU companies from going to a foreign court to protect and use their patents. China severely restricts EU companies with rights to key technologies (such as 3G, 4G and 5G) from protecting these rights when their patents are used illegally or without appropriate compensation by, for example, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers. The patent holders that do go to court outside China often face significant fines in China, putting them under pressure to settle for licensing fees below market rates. This Chinese policy is extremely damaging to innovation and growth in Europe, effectively depriving European technology companies of the possibility to exercise and enforce the rights that give them a technological edge.
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Direct Line Group CEO, Penny James, as Chair of its Practitioner Panel. Penny, who has been a member of the Panel since September 2020, will take up the post from 1 March 2022. She succeeds Paul Feeney, CEO of Quilter. The FCA Practitioner Panel is an independent statutory body providing input from the industry to help the FCA meet its objectives. The FCA also has statutory Panels representing the interests of consumers, practitioners at smaller businesses and wholesale market participants. Continue reading…

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision today announced the appointment of Neil Esho as its next Secretary General for an initial term of three years. He succeeds Carolyn Rogers, who had served as Secretary General since 2019, and left the Committee in November to become Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada. Esho has been Deputy Secretary General since July 2014. He joined the Basel Committee Secretariat in April 2006. Prior to that, he was Head of Research at the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). Continue reading…

The EuroMed Justice Programme (EMJ) has organised a workshop between Belgian and Lebanese authorities on the international exchange of information for the detection and recovery of criminal assets. The activity was held in Brussels on 1-3 February using the new Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) tool. A delegation of seven judges and prosecutors from Lebanon, one of the South Partner Countries (SPCs), met with representatives of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Police, the Central Organ for Seizure and Confiscation (OCSC) and the Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTIF). Continue reading…

The Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), the oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, has of recent reaffirmed its commitment to implementing all aspects of the Basel III framework. The initial Basel III reforms have played a central role in ensuring that the banking system has thus far remained operationally and financially resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic. Unlike the experience of the Great Financial Crisis, banks have remained resilient and continued to lend to creditworthy households and businesses. Continue reading…

In his speech at the 6th Annual Afore Conference, Steven Maijoor spoke about the complexity of reshaping regulation and supervision in a financial sector where platforms and new technology play in increasingly important role. ‘This is not Basel 3, this is Basel to the power of 3.’, he said. He emphasised that, despite these complexities, financial regulators and supervisors have a responsibility to make sure that they can continue to deliver on their mandate to safeguard financial stability. Continue reading…

by Francesco Domenico Attisano, Fabio Accardi & Roberto Rosato

A quick overview on historical trend of global risks, as outlined by the Global Risk Report, with a focus on the last two years in particular, and of the outlook drawn in the latest GRR edition, can help us to take out relevant insights on risk governance and compliance. Continue reading…

Academy – Euronext Group’s upcoming interactive Enterprise Risk Management educational program provides a succinct and practical overview of the most topical components of the enterprise risk management framework. Live virtual sessions are structured around the areas of Risk Appetite, Risk culture, Risk reporting, Operational Resilience and Risk Assessments. The course also features an exclusive workshop that explores softer skills and qualities that are instrumental for successful risk teams; an essential yet frequently undervalued element that is crucial for effective enterprise risk management. This is an essential course for all individuals responsible for implementing risk management practices in their organisations or those interested to stay current and improve their Operational risk solutions.
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Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS, Goethe University’s Institute for Law and Finance (ILF) recently delivered a speech at the conference on “Data, Digitalisation, the New Finance and Central Bank Digital Currencies: The Future of Banking and Money” on 18 January 2022. It’s an honour to deliver this speech at Goethe University. Of course, I wish I could have been in Frankfurt in person. In a speech at this university four years ago, I addressed the growth and pitfalls of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Since then, the debate on the future of money has grown much broader, but it continues to touch on the very foundations of the monetary system. Continue reading…