News Centre

Standard Bank To Pay $4.2 Million To Settle SEC Charges - Bank Agrees To $36.9 Million Global Settlement With The SEC And The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office

Date 30/11/2015

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Standard Bank Plc with failing to disclose certain payments in connection with debt issued by the Government of Tanzania in 2013.  The London-based bank acted as a lead manager for the offering and failed to disclose payments made by an affiliate to a Tanzanian firm that received a portion of the proceeds of the $600 million offering but performed no substantive role in the transaction.

Federal Court In Illinois Permanently Bans Former Sentinel Management Group, Inc. CEO And President Eric A. Bloom From The Commodities Industry - The CFTC Charged Bloom with Misusing Commodity Customer Funds - In a Parallel Criminal Action, Bloom Was Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison and Ordered to Pay Restitution

Date 30/11/2015

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Judge Charles P. Kocoras of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered an Order for permanent injunction against Eric A. Bloom, formerly of Northbrook, Illinois, to resolve charges against him alleging violations of Section 4d(b) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) in the handling of $562 million in commodity customer segregated funds that had been managed by Sentinel Management Group, Inc. (Sentinel).

Fifth Meeting Of The Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative Group For The Commonwealth Of Independent States

Date 30/11/2015

Today, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation hosted the fifth meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Regional Consultative Group for the Commonwealth of Independent States (RCG for the CIS) in Moscow.

Development Banks Vow To Mobilise Collective Resources To Confront Climate Change

Date 30/11/2015

The heads of the world’s largest development banks pledged today to work together to substantially increase climate investments and ensure that development programmes going forward consider climate risks and opportunities.

ACER Market Monitoring Report 2015 - Fall In Wholesale Energy Prices Still Not Reflected At Retail Level

Date 30/11/2015

Wholesale energy prices continued to decrease in 2014. This fall had a positive impact on the prices paid by industrial consumers, but often not on the energy bills of residential customers.

Better Finance: Bank Savings Accounts In The EU Hit By Financial Repression

Date 30/11/2015

Savings accounts still constitute the most widely-used (35% of all financial savings of EU household financial products in Europe and together represent roughly € 10 trillion of household savings. Unfortunately EU citizens are now losing money in 11 out of 18 Member States studied in a new report, with negative real returns on their bank savings accounts.

US Patent Office Grants “Call Recording In A Telecommunications Network” Patent To Truphone

Date 30/11/2015

Global mobile network, Truphone, today received its Grant certificate for US Patent 9131055, for its “anti-tromboning” technology, part of its call recording solution, Truphone Mobile Recording. The patented technology prevents a call from being sent around the world for recording even if the file has to be held in a particular jurisdiction.

Borsa Italiana Welcomes 100th Open-End Fund

Date 30/11/2015

• Borsa Italiana welcomes four new issuers: 8a+, European and Global Investments Ltd, Method Investments Sicav, Selectra Investments Sicav, with a total of 18 new products
• Now 16 issuers of open-end funds on Borsa Italiana

ESMA Publishes Final Report On Guidelines On Complex Debt Instruments And Structured Deposits In MiFID II

Date 30/11/2015

The European Securities and Markets Authority has published today the Final Report on guidelines on complex debt instruments and structured deposits. 

Bank Of England And HM Treasury Announce Extension To The Funding For Lending Scheme

Date 30/11/2015

The Bank of England and HM Treasury are today announcing a two-year extension to the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS).  This extension will provide participants with additional flexibility to draw unused drawing allowances earned for positive net lending, with funding remaining available to support further improvements in credit conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  The extension will also ensure that the scheme is gradually phased out, with borrowing allowances reducing over time, thereby minimising risks to the economic recovery from the withdrawal of funding support.