News Centre

S&P Dow Jones Indices Europe Dashboard

Date 30/04/2020

• April offered a welcome rally for global equities as the novel shock of pandemic became cruelly familiar, and markets adjusted to the new normal. 
• Picking up steam in the second half of the month, the S&P Europe 350® posted its best monthly return since January 2019. 
• Volatility remained elevated, but moved down significantly from March’s near-record levels of uncertainty.

Amendments To Exchange Rules 1801 And 1809 In Connection With MIAX Options Proposal To List And Trade Options That Overlie Five Advanced Fundamentals LLC Commercial Real Estate Indexes

Date 30/04/2020

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness relating to MIAX Options’ proposal to list and trade options on five new Advanced Fundamentals LLC Commercial Real Estate Indexes that measure real-time real estate returns.
 

New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell Announces Bank Hapoalim To Pay $220 Million Penalty To New York State - Bank Hapoalim Knowingly Facilitated U.S. Clients’ Tax Evasion - Bank Hapoalim Also Initially Failed to Cooperate Fully with DFS’ Investigation, Causing Delay and Resulting in the Loss of Potentially Relevant Evidence

Date 30/04/2020

Superintendent of Financial Services Linda A. Lacewell announced today that Bank Hapoalim B.M. and Bank Hapoalim, New York Branches (“Bank Hapoalim” or the “Bank”), will pay a $220 million penalty to the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) for having knowingly facilitated U.S. clients’ evasion of state and federal taxes through its conduct of an illegal cross-border banking business. In addition to this penalty, resolutions entered into with federal partners require the Bank to pay more than $874.27 million to the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve.   

Israel’s Largest Bank, Bank Hapoalim, Admits To Conspiring With U.S. Taxpayers To Hide Assets And Income In Offshore Accounts - Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) Pleads Guilty And Bank Hapoalim B.M. Enters Into Deferred Prosecution Agreement For Criminal Misconduct; Agree To Pay Nearly $875 Million

Date 30/04/2020

Jeffrey A. Rosen, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Richard E. Zuckerman, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Don Fort, the Chief of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announced today the guilty plea of Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd. and filing of criminal charges against Bank Hapoalim B.M. for conspiring with U.S. taxpayers and others to hide more than $7.6 billion in more than 5,500 secret Swiss and Israeli bank accounts and the income generated in these accounts from the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS).  BHS’s Chief Executive Officer appeared on behalf of the bank to enter the guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.

Federal Reserve Board Announces The Public Comment Period Has Been Extended Through June 4, 2020, For The Notice By Morgan Stanley Of New York, New York, To Acquire E*TRADE Financial Corporation of Arlington, Virginia

Date 30/04/2020

The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced that the public comment period has been extended through June 4, 2020, for the notice by Morgan Stanley of New York, New York, to acquire E*TRADE Financial Corporation of Arlington, Virginia. The comment period is being extended to provide additional time for interested parties to comment on the notice in light of the ongoing challenges from the coronavirus.

US Department Of Justice: Bank Hapoalim Agrees To Pay More Than $30 Million For Its Role In FIFA Money Laundering Conspiracy - Bank Hapoalim B.M. And Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd. Enter Into Three-Year Non-Prosecution Agreement

Date 30/04/2020

Bank Hapoalim B.M. (BHBM), an Israeli bank with international operations, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd. (BHS), have agreed to forfeit $20,733,322 and pay a fine of $9,329,995 to resolve an investigation into their involvement in a money laundering conspiracy that fueled an international soccer bribery scheme. 

Nodal Exchange Successfully Migrates Additional Natural Gas Open Interest From Nasdaq Futures, Inc.

Date 30/04/2020

Nodal Exchange announced today that it successfully migrated a second tranche of natural gas futures and options contracts open interest from Nasdaq Futures, Inc. (NFX) to Nodal Clear, Nodal Exchange’s clearing house, pursuant to the agreement announced in November 2019 whereby Nodal purchased core assets of NFX’s futures and options exchange business. 578,377,500 million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) were migrated yesterday morning to Nodal Exchange, following the prior migration of  818,737,500 million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) on April 13.  This is the energy equivalent of a total 409 million MWh migrated in April and represented about 160,000 total natural gas lots in April.  Nodal Exchange also previously migrated 91 million MWh of power futures and options on February 6, 2020 which represented all of the NFX North American power open interest (except for current month expiries by design).

FINRA Securities Helpline For Seniors Marks Five-Year Anniversary - FINRA Releases Report Highlighting Helpline’s Efforts And Other FINRA Initiatives To Protect Seniors

Date 30/04/2020

FINRA today released a new report illustrating the FINRA Securities Helpline for Seniors’ efforts to provide support, resources and education to senior investors over the last five years. The report also provides insight into FINRA’s ongoing work to protect senior investors beyond the Helpline – including rulemaking, disciplinary actions, and collaboration with other regulators and organizations – and shares effective practices from member firm senior investor protection programs.

Ontario Securities Commission Seeks Comment On Its Key Priorities

Date 30/04/2020

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today published Notice 11-788 seeking public comment on its current Statement of Priorities (SOP) to inform its business planning for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Given the outbreak of COVID-19 and related financial market uncertainty, the OSC has decided not to consult on a more detailed SOP at this time.  

IMF Executive Board Approves A US$200 Million Disbursement To Mali To Address The COVID-19 Pandemic

Date 30/04/2020

• The IMF approved a disbursement of US$200 million under the Rapid Credit Facility to help Mali meet urgent balance-of-payments and fiscal needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This assistance will help support urgent spending on health services and assistance to affected firms and households, while preserving overall social spending.
• The authorities responded quickly with measures to contain the spread of the virus and to mitigate its social and economic impact.