The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Stephen Braviner Roman as General Counsel and as a member of its Executive Committee following an open competition. Stephen is expected to join the FCA in February next year. Megan Butler has announced she will step down from her role as Executive Director of Transformation in the spring. Megan joined the FCA from the Bank of England in 2016 as Executive Director of Supervision – Investment, Wholesale and Specialist. Emily Shepperd will lead the FCA’s transformation programme, alongside her role as Executive Director of Authorisations, where since March she has spearheaded changes to our approach to the gateway and has been leading a number of transformation workstreams. Continue reading…

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) Regional Consultative Group (RCG) for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) met on December 3rd in virtual format. Members discussed global and regional macro-financial vulnerabilities, including those stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, their possible impact on RCG MENA member economies, and potential policy responses. As part of the discussion, members discussed initial lessons learnt from a financial stability perspective, and considered the potential implications for the region of exit measures taken in advanced economies. Continue reading…

The FCA has recently confirmed a series of rule changes to ensure that the UK’s public markets remain a trusted and attractive place to list successful companies, providing opportunities for companies to grow from which investors will benefit. The reforms address, and build on, a number of the recommendations made in the UK Listing Review and the Kalifa Review of UK FinTech, with the FCA seizing the opportunity to update its rules to respond to the changing nature of companies looking to list while maintaining high standards for UK public markets. Continue reading…

Eurojust has provided rapid support to the Romanian, German and French authorities to dismantle an organised crime group (OCG) involved in large-scale cargo thefts from lorries parked in motorway rest areas in Germany and France. During a joint action day, 34 suspects have been charged, of whom 14 were arrested in Romania and Germany. A total of 57 places were searched in Romania and Germany. Eurojust assisted the authorities with the setting up and funding of a joint investigation team (JIT) and enabled cross-border judicial cooperation and coordination. Continue reading…

The 2021 Global Insurance Market Report (GIMAR) reports on the outcome of the 2021 Global Monitoring Exercise (GME), the IAIS’ risk assessment framework to monitor key risks and trends and to detect the potential build-up of systemic risk in the global insurance sector. The report also provides an update on the outcome of the Covid-19 targeted assessment based on year-end 2020 data. The GME builds on data collected from approximately 60 of the largest international insurance groups (individual insurer monitoring or IIM) and aggregate sector-wide data from supervisors across the globe (sector-wide monitoring or SWM), covering over 90% of global written premiums. Continue reading…

On 9 December, Klaas Knot spoke at the 13th Conference on Payments and Market Infrastructure, jointly organised by the National Bank of North Macedonia and De Nederlandsche Bank. This year’s conference title was “Payments in the digital era: inside out”. Mr. Knot talked about a few payment trends: the use of cash, the development of cryptos and stablecoins, and the use of big data and AI. For each of these, he highlighted both opportunities and risks. He stressed that “[…] as central bankers and supervisors, we welcome any technological innovation that has the potential to make payments more convenient and accessible for everyone; the potential to contribute to our societies’ welfare; the potential to contribute to a trustworthy and stable financial system. But there is a big sine qua non. For us, as supervisors and central bankers, trust goes hand in hand with rules, regulation and supervision.”
Continue reading…

The University of Portsmouth has officially set a date for its 3rd Winter Economic Crime Symposium, which will be held online for free on February 3 2022 from 10:00 – 16:00 UK time. Fraud, corruption, bribery, money laundering, price-fixing cartels and intellectual property crimes pursued typically for financial and professional gain, have devastating consequences for the prosperity of economic life. Too often an effective response to economic crime is limited by institutional, disciplinary, and cultural barriers. The 3rd Winter Economic Crime Symposium brings together a diverse body of researchers, practitioners, students, and other community members to discuss how economic criminology can feed an effective response to economic crime.  Continue reading…

The FCA has reformed its decision-making process to ensure it can make faster and more effective decisions for consumers, markets and firms. As part of its transformation to a more innovative and assertive regulator, more decisions will be taken by the FCA’s senior managers rather than by the Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC). The new process will ensure decisions to prevent or stop consumer harm are taken more quickly.  Continue reading…

Corruption is a cancer within the body of societies—a disease that eats at public trust and the ability of governments to deliver for their citizens. The deleterious effects of corruption impact nearly all aspects of society. It exacerbates social, political, and economic inequality and polarisation; impedes the ability of states to respond to public health crises or to deliver quality education; degrades the business environment and economic opportunity; drives conflict; and undermines faith in government. Those that abuse positions of power for private gain steal not just material wealth, but human dignity and welfare. Recognising corruption’s ability to corrode democracy, on June 3, 2021, President Biden established the fight against corruption as a core U.S. national security interest. Continue reading…

European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy have recently launched the Global Gateway, the new European Strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport and strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. It stands for sustainable and trusted connections that work for people and the planet, to tackle the most pressing global challenges, from climate change and protecting the environment, to improving health security and boosting competitiveness and global supply chains. Continue reading…