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 >>
$1B in Misused 1MDB Funds Returned to Malaysia
Justice Department Sends Back Misappropriated Funds U.S. Justice Department officials report that they have returned “an additional $452 million in misappropriated 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds to the people of Malaysia, bringing the total returned to over $1.2 billion.” The repatriation of the funds from the former 1MDB investment development fund follows a scandal in… Read More >>
Gary Gensler’s SEC Takes Shape
As expected, SEC Chair Gary Gensler is taking the regulatory agency in a different direction than the most recent chairman Jay Clayton. Recent actions are pointing to a more activist environment and a new era of rulemaking. For starters, Gensler recently announced his policy team, which will be led by Heather Slavkin Corzo, policy director…. Read More >>
DTCC Repository Fined for Alleged Data Breaches
The London-based DTCC Derivatives Repository Plc (DDRL), a suite of post-trade, record-keeping, and reporting services, has been fined by E.U. regulator European Securities and Markets Authority for seven alleged infringements of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation legislation governing data confidentiality, data integrity, and direct and immediate data access. The total fine is €408,000, or approximately… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch Pays $11M+ to Settle UIT Case
FINRA, the self-regulatory authority for broker-dealers, has fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. $3.25 million for “failing to reasonably supervise” early unit investment trust rollovers. In addition to the fine, the firm will be paying $8.4 million in restitution to “harmed” customers. In the usual formulation, Merrill Lynch neither confirms nor denies the… 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 >>
Broadridge Buys J&J Unit to Bolster RegTech Services
Broadridge Financial Solutions is bolstering its regulatory compliance services for broker-dealers via an acquisition of the cloud-based Execution Compliance and Surveillance Service (ECS) assets of Wall Street consultancy Jordan & Jordan (J&J), officials say. J&J officials describe their ECS offering as a managed service that includes “comprehensive reviews to assess compliance with various aspects of… Read More >>
Credit Suisse & CFTC Settle Swap Data Reporting Case
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has ordered Credit Suisse International, Credit Suisse Securities Europe Limited, and Credit Suisse Capital LLC — three Credit Suisse entities that are provisionally registered swap dealers — to pay $1.5 million for “failing to comply with swap data reporting obligations.” In addition to the financial penalty, the three Credit Suisse… Read More >>
Robinhood Pays $70M to Resolve FINRA Case
Self-regulatory organization (SRO) FINRA has fined online brokerage Robinhood Financial $57 million and required $12.6 million in restitution to investors allegedly harmed by the firm, which says that it has improved its platform stability, and neither admits nor denies the charges of the settlement. “The sanctions represent the largest financial penalty ever ordered by FINRA… Read More >>
Time to Learn More About Open Source?
Financial services firms are using a lot of open source software but there may be a gap in their understanding of how to manage the “opportunities and potential challenges” of the open source movement, according to the Fintech Open Source Foundation, also known as FINOS. FINOS is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to… Read More >>
