Linda A. Lacewell recently announced that she will be stepping down on August 24 from her position as superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) after two-and-a-half years at the helm. Her departure coincides with the resignation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo who is leaving because of a scandal involving sexual harassment… Read More >>
Crypto Regs Are on SEC Chair’s Radar
SEC Chair Gary Gensler says that the regulator must consider ways to protect investors vulnerable to the “Wild West” of cryptocurrencies, the trading and custody for crypto-based instruments, and the tokenization bandwagon. In remarks at the Aspen Security Forum on Aug. 3, Gensler noted that “the crypto asset class has ballooned. As of Monday [Aug…. Read More >>
Westpac Could Pay $87M in Corporate Actions Remediation
Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp. has agreed to spend as much as $87 million in remediation for past corporate actions notification problems that may have caused clients to miss out on actionable information, confirm bank officials and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Westpac officials initially reported to ASIC in July 2019 that there may… Read More >>
FINRA Puts an Expiration Date on OATS
Self-regulatory organization, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is quietly putting an expiration date of September 1, 2021, on the Order Audit Trail System (OATS) as the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) reaches a new level of reliability. In typical legalese, FINRA officials released the following Regulatory Notice 21-21: “Effective September 1, 2021, FINRA is amending… Read More >>
Julius Baer Laundered Money to Support Bribery Scheme
As expected, private Swiss firm Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. (BJB) is resolving a criminal case with the U.S. Justice Department by paying a fine and penalties that are more than double what the bank admits to laundering. The full amount BJB will pay is $79.7 million. The bank has also admitted its role… Read More >>
FNZ Can Have GBST’s Post-Trade Wares: CMA
The FNZ-GBST acquisition saga may be entering its final act as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the U.K. has reaffirmed its initial findings that their continued merger would reduce competition in the retail investment platform solutions space. This time around, though, the CMA has suggested that FNZ, a wealth management technology and investment… Read More >>
Senate Bill Could Help Save CFTC’s Whistleblower Program
The U.S. Senate has taken the first step in a rescue of a whistleblower program for the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) via a bill that got unanimous bipartisan support and may lead to new funding for a program running out of money. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who proposed the bill, says that if it… Read More >>
SteelEye to Expand into North American Markets
SteelEye Raised $17 Million to Fund Growth SteelEye, a compliance technology and data analytics vendor based in the United Kingdom, reports that it plans to expand into North America. Founded in 2017, SteelEye offers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) based regulatory-technology platform for “banks, brokers, and asset managers” that is meant to simplify their compliance processes, officials say. In… Read More >>
Gensler’s SEC Will Face ESG, Crypto & Investor Woes
By a vote of 53 to 45, Gary Gensler, a former CFTC chairman, won confirmation by the U.S. Senate to become the next chair of the SEC, ushering in what many expect will be a new era of regulation requiring adherence to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reforms. The Senate vote, which got the support… Read More >>
ICE’s Bitcoin Custody Firm Gets a BitLicense
NYSDFS Approves Bakkt Marketplace The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) has approved the application of Bakkt Marketplace, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bakkt Holdings, LLC, for virtual currency and money transmitter licenses, Financial Services Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell reports. The licenses will allow Bakkt Marketplace, a digital currency trading platform,… Read More >>
