As financial services firms face the challenges of intense market volatility, the ongoing flow of sanctions, and the many other ramifications stemming from Russia’s horrifying invasion of Ukraine, they are also responding to a humanitarian crisis that has only just begun. For instance, investment bank Jefferies announced that it will holding a “Doing Good Global Trading… Read More >>
Justice Department Sharpens Its Focus on Crypto Crime
Has Vlad the Crimea Impaler lost has mind? In the wake of the assault on Ukraine, FTF News is far from the only one asking that question. What’s next? What will stop Vladimir Putin? Around the U.S. and Canada, Russian Vodka is being pulled from liquor store shelves. And if that doesn’t dissuade him from… Read More >>
Russia’s Sberbank Settles Repo Transaction via Smart Contract
Russia’s largest bank Sberbank and a private investment firm, Region Group, report that they have settled “the first Russian law-governed repo transaction” with a smart contract developed via the bank’s blockchain laboratory. Using the blockchain for repos provides market participants with “additional flexibility” because it gives end-users a transparent workflow and an “additional level of… Read More >>
Firms Need Multi-Disciplinary & Complex IT Responses to Sanctions
World events are hitting home for financial services firms as the Obama and Trump administrations have been steadily issuing a growing list of complex economic sanctions against countries that have been hotspots across the globe, including Venezuela, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Ukraine, Russia, and Syria. These sanctions are compelling firms to formulate multi-disciplinary responses and… Read More >>
JPMorgan Cyber-Attack Spurs ‘Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt’
(Editor’s note: In a companion piece to this story, FTF News explores how the FS-ISAC, a financial services cyber threat-sharing group, is automating the sharing of threat information across the financial sector. Read about it here.) The massive cyber-security breach at JPMorgan that compromised gigabytes of sensitive data is dialing up the “fear, uncertainty and… Read More >>
Fighting Russia with FATCA
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act may take on a significant role beyond that of a tedious tax chore with harsh consequences. A tax withholding provision of FATCA could become a key economic sanction against Russian financial institutions and investors that the U.S. could exploit for its response to the international strife over the Ukraine…. Read More >>
