News Centre

FINRA Sanctions Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. $8.8 Million For Supervisory Violations Related To Variable Annuities, Mutual Funds And 529 Plans - Firm Ordered To Pay $4.4 Million In Restitution To Approximately 2,400 Affected Customers

Date 21/12/2020

FINRA announced today that Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. (TFA) has agreed to pay approximately $4.4 million in restitution to approximately 2,400 customers for failing to supervise its registered representatives’ recommendations of three different products - variable annuities, mutual funds, and 529 plans. FINRA also fined TFA $4.4 million.

SIFMA Issues Checklist In The Event US Interest Rates Turn Negative

Date 21/12/2020

SIFMA today issued a white paper titled “U.S. Negative Interest Rates Policy Checklist.”  The checklist, which was co-authored by SIFMA and Ernst & Young LLP (EY), was developed to assist SIFMA and other market participants with planning for the potential of a negative interest rate policy in the U.S., accelerate readiness, and mitigate the risk of disruption to business activities and investors.

CFTC Staff Extends No-Action Relief For Shanghai Clearing House

Date 21/12/2020

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) today issued a no-action letter extending the relief originally provided to Shanghai Clearing House (SHCH) in CFTC Letter No. 16-56, which— pursuant to CFTC Letter No. 18-18— will expire on July 31, 2021. The extension ends the earlier of July 31, 2022 or the date on which the CFTC exempts SHCH from registration as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO).

Statement On Recent And Upcoming Regulation Best Interest Examinations From The SEC Division Of Examinations, Division Of Examinations Staff

Date 21/12/2020

[1]Regulation Best Interest established a new, substantially elevated standard of conduct under the Exchange Act for broker-dealers and associated persons of a broker-dealer (collectively “broker-dealers” or “firms”).[2]  After Regulation Best Interest’s June 30, 2020 compliance date, the Division of Examinations (“Division”) (formerly the “Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations”) launched examinations to assess the Regulation Best Interest implementation efforts of broker-dealers.  Division staff has assessed the results of its initial Regulation Best Interest examinations and now that approximately six months have passed since the Regulation Best Interest compliance date, the Division intends to begin its next phase by conducting more focused examinations as outlined below beginning in January 2021.  As part of this effort, Division staff will examine whether broker-dealers have written policies and procedures and systems in place to achieve compliance with the Regulation.

Finansinspektionen: Households’ Finances And Financial Literacy 2020

Date 21/12/2020

Single-adult households with children continue to have a more difficult financial situation than other households. FI has measured households’ financial literacy and found that it has improved in almost all areas compared to previous surveys.

Interview: It's About Time To Access The Benefits Of Listed FX - Barclays And DZ PRIVATBANK S.A. To Provide Union Investment Access To Eurex FX

Date 21/12/2020

Listed FX volumes and open interest are continuing to grow at Eurex. With a strong December roll, the exchange traded more than 600,000 futures contracts in 2020 despite the COVID-19 crisis. Progress is also visible in market access. Most recently, Barclays and DZ PRIVATBANK S.A. provided Union Investment access to Eurex FX.

BIS: Forecasting Expected And Unexpected Losses

Date 21/12/2020

Summary

Focus

To align banks' loss-absorbing resources with actual risks, new regulation features forward-looking elements. Namely, recently adopted provisioning standards seek to align the amount of assets that banks write down with the level of expected future losses (EL), which may vary over time. In parallel, capital requirements are set to generate resources for time-varying unexpected losses (UL), or the extent to which EL may be exceeded in extreme scenarios.

EBA Provides Additional Clarity On The Implementation Of Selected COVID-19 Policies

Date 21/12/2020

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today additional clarifications on the application of the prudential framework in response to issues raised as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. These clarifications update the FAQ section of the EBA Report on COVID-19 implementation policies published on 7 August. They mainly cover the EBA Guidelines on moratoria and COVID-19 reporting, operational risk, downturn LGD estimation and the credit risk mitigation framework. This Report is part of the EBA’s wider monitoring of the implementation of COVID-19 policies as well as of the application of existing policies under these exceptional circumstances.

S.P. Kothari To Conclude Tenure As SEC Chief Economist And Division Of Economic And Risk Analysis Director

Date 21/12/2020

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that S.P. Kothari, Chief Economist and Director of the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, will conclude his tenure by the end of January.

BME: Premier Registers Its First Commercial Paper Programme With MARF

Date 21/12/2020

BME’s Fixed Income market, MARF, today registered the first Commercial Paper Programme from real estate agency Premier España. This Commercial Paper Programme will allow the company to access qualified investors flexibly in order to diversify its financing sources through the distribution of short-term securities with a maximum outstanding balance of 50 million euros.