Regulators seek to address “rolling bad apples”, bank culture reform, and cryptocurrency derivatives. By Farhana Sharmeen, Simon Hawkins, Kenneth Hui, and Marc Tan This blog post summarises key regulatory developments that took place in Hong Kong and Singapore in May 2020, as regulators in both jurisdictions issued regulatory pronouncements across a spectrum of topics — … Continue Reading
New guidance for issuers and market participants on capital raising events and alternative working arrangements, and additional time allowed for filing half-yearly financial reports. By James Inness, Nicola Higgs, Connor Cahalane, and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 27 May 2020, the FCA published its Primary Market Bulletin 28, which provides an update for issuers on temporary relief … Continue Reading
MAS confirms regulatory approach for derivative contracts on payment tokens. By Farhana Sharmeen and Marc Jia Renn Tan On 15 May 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the MAS) issued its response to feedback about its proposed regulatory approach for derivative contracts that reference payment tokens as underlying assets (Payment Token Derivatives), confirming that it … Continue Reading
UK government encourages regulated firms to share customer information within corporate groups, highlighting interaction with firms’ obligations under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and GDPR. By Rob Moulton, Jonathan Ritson-Candler, Fiona Maclean, and Olga Phillips The UK government has published a statement endorsing the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF’s) recommendations that regulated financial institutions … Continue Reading
The three draft delegated regulations set out sustainability criteria and ESG disclosure requirements for benchmarks provided in accordance with the EU Benchmarks Regulation. By Nicola Higgs and Becky Critchley On 8 April 2020, the European Commission published the three draft delegated regulations required by Regulation (EU) 2019/2089, commonly referred to as the Low Carbon Benchmarks … Continue Reading
By Rob Moulton and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 30 April 2020, the FCA released a statement announcing a six-month extension to the deadline for firms’ implementation of strong customer authentication (SCA) for e-commerce under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (PSRs 2017). The FCA states that the extension is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is set … Continue Reading
FCA announces steps to obtain clarity for insurers and policyholders. By Victoria Sander, Martin Davies, Oliver Middleton, and Duncan Graves The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced today, 1 May 2020, that it is taking steps to resolve contractual uncertainty in business interruption (BI) insurance cover in light of COVID-19 and intends to apply urgently for a … Continue Reading
Federal Reserve set to make up to $600 billion available to eligible small and mid-sized businesses. By Alan W. Avery, Courtenay Myers Lima, and Pia Naib On April 9, 2020, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) announced details regarding the terms and conditions of two Main Street lending facilities to … Continue Reading
New legislation suspends contractual obligations for the next six months with related disputes subject to a separate dispute resolution system. By Farhana Sharmeen and Marc Jia Renn Tan On 7 April 2020, the Singapore Parliament passed the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act (the Act) offering temporary relief to businesses and individuals who are unable to fulfil … Continue Reading
