News Centre

Registration Opens For The SEC’s 42nd Annual Small Business Forum To Impact Capital Raising Policy

Date 06/04/2023

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation has opened registration for the SEC’s 42nd Annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation, which will take place April 24-27. The virtual forum will run each day from 1-2:30 p.m. ET and will feature speakers, including SEC Commissioners, with in-depth knowledge of the issues facing small businesses and their investors. Sessions will focus on the following topics:

Microsoft To Pay Over $3.3M In Total Combined Civil Penalties To BIS And OFAC To Resolve Alleged And Apparent Violations Of U.S. Export Controls And Sanctions

Date 06/04/2023

Today, as part of a coordinated enforcement effort, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) imposed a combined $3.3 million in civil penalties against Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) for alleged and apparent violations of U.S. export controls and sanctions laws. 

US Office Of The Comptroller Of The Currency Hosts Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committee Meeting April 25 And Appoints Four New Members

Date 06/04/2023

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced it will host a meeting of the Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committee (MDIAC) and the appointment of four new MDIAC members.

Staff Statement On The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act And The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, SEC Division Of Corporation Finance And Division Of Trading And Markets[1]

Date 06/04/2023

In December 2022, Congress amended the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“HFCAA”) to shorten the timeframe before certain issuers face a trading prohibition from three to two consecutive years, and to clarify that any foreign authority impeding Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) inspections or investigations can trigger the provisions of the Act.

Nigerian Exchange Weekly Market Report For April 6th, 2023

Date 06/04/2023

The market opened for four trading days this week as the Federal Government of Nigeria declared Friday 7th April 2023 and Monday 10th April 2023 as Public Holidays to mark the Easter celebration.

BIS: Big Techs And The Credit Channel Of Monetary Policy

Date 06/04/2023

Summary

Focus 

Big techs are lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and vendors on their e-commerce platforms, thus encroaching on financial markets. These changes in financial intermediation could affect monetary policy transmission in at least two ways. First, the business model of big techs depends on using vast amounts of data instead of collateral to solve agency problems between borrowers and lenders. By using machine learning and big data to generate credit scores, big techs can assess a company's creditworthiness more accurately than traditional credit bureau ratings can. As a result, this may decrease the relevance of the "collateral channel" and, simultaneously, increase the responsiveness of credit to changes in firms' business conditions. Second, the threat of reputational damage, or of being excluded from the e-commerce platform, serves as an extra-legal but highly effective means of contract enforcement for big tech firms.

US Treasury Releases 2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment

Date 06/04/2023

Today the U.S. Department of the Treasury published the 2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment, the first illicit finance risk assessment conducted on decentralized finance (DeFi) in the world. The assessment considers risks associated with what are commonly called DeFi services. While there is currently no generally accepted definition of DeFi, the term broadly refers to virtual asset protocols and services that purport to allow some form of automated peer-to-peer transactions, often through use of self-executing code known as “smart contracts” based on blockchain technology. This term is frequently used loosely by the private sector, often for services that are not functionally decentralized.

MGEX Reports Trading Results For March 2023 - SPIKES Futures Sets New Open Interest Record

Date 06/04/2023

Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX™), a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), today reported March 2023 trading volume of 242,712 contracts, representing a 29.1% year-over-year (YoY) decrease and a 4.2% decrease from February 2023.

UK Financial Conduct Authority: Three Individuals Convicted And Sentenced To A Combined 24 And A Half Years For 'All-Or-Nothing’ Investment Fraud

Date 06/04/2023

Three people have been convicted for investment fraud and sentenced to a total of 24 and a half years for their roles, in a prosecution brought by the FCA.

Miami International Holdings Reports Trading Results For March 2023 - Multiple Volume And Market Share Records Set On MIAX Options And Equities Exchanges

Date 06/04/2023

Miami International Holdings, Inc. today reported March 2023 trading results for its U.S. exchange subsidiaries – MIAX®, MIAX Pearl® and MIAX Emerald® (together, the MIAX Exchange Group), and Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX™).