News Centre

Sberbank CIB And MTS Issue First Russian Bonds Via Smart Contracts Based On NSD’s Blockchain Platform

Date 16/05/2018

MTS, Russia’s leading telecommunications operator, Sberbank CIB, Sberbank’s corporate investment business, and National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository, for the first time in Russia have placed commercial bonds denominated in rubles and based on blockchain with the full life cycle of a security in the form of a set of smart contracts – from placement to the full performance of the issuer’s obligations to investors.

Stellar And Monero Added To deVere Crypto Exchange Due To Public Demand

Date 16/05/2018

One of the world’s largest independent financial services organisations has added a further two digital currencies to its cryptocurrency exchange app due to public demand being “fuelled by digital money becoming ever more mainstream.”

New Fruit On “Belt & Road” Capital Market Construction Shanghai Stock Exchange And Shenzhen Stock Exchange Consortium Signed Equity Acquisition Agreement With Dhaka Stock Exchange

Date 16/05/2018

On May 14, 2018, Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange Consortium (the Consortium) and the Dhaka Stock Exchange of Bangladesh (DSE) held the signing ceremony of equity acquisition agreement in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Mr. Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Finance Minister of Bangladesh, Dr. M. Khairul Hossain, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Bangladesh, Mr. Li Guangjun, Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, Mr. Wang Jianjun, President of Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), Mr. Pan Xuexian, Chair of Supervisory Board of Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), and representatives from Bangladesh’s financial community, SSE and SZSE attended the signing ceremony.

Lysis Continues Its Work With The Damilola Taylor Trust In Helping Young People Build Careers - Our 2018 City Careers Pathway Programme With The Damilola Taylor Trust Is Underway

Date 16/05/2018

Lysis, a financial services consultancy headquartered in London and with offices worldwide, has been working with the Damilola Taylor Trust for over a year, and last year hosted the inaugural City Careers Pathway Programme workshops, welcoming the first batch of interns to the newly-formed Programme. With youth violence and, in particular, knife crime, since Damilola Taylor’s horrific murder becoming more and more of an issue, we are proud to be working with the Trust and its delivery partner Hudl CIC in delivering the City Careers Pathway Programme 2018, the objective of which is to provide participants from disadvantaged backgrounds experience and insight into working in the financial services industry.

Shanghai Stock Exchange Releases, Implements “Guidelines On Content And Format Of ABS Periodic Report”, “Guidelines On Credit Risk Management In Duration Of ABS (Trial)”

Date 16/05/2018

In recent years, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) has promoted the reform and innovation as well as the standard development of the asset securitization market by adhering to the principle of paying equal attention to the market development and the regulation and risk control. As a result, the amounts of the issued and listed assets-backed securities (ABS) have kept increasing. To further improve the rules system of the asset securitization market, enhance the information disclosure quality of ABS, strengthen the credit risk management in its duration, and earnestly safeguard legitimate rights and interests of investors, the SSE released and implemented the “Guidelines on the Content and Format of ABS Periodic Report” (the “Periodic Report Guidelines” for short) and the “Guidelines on the Credit Risk Management in Duration of ABS (Trial)” (the “Risk Management Guidelines” for short) on May 11, on the basis of summarizing the frontline regulatory experience and widely soliciting opinions of market institutions.

New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority: Insurers Spend $34 Million On Soft Commissions

Date 16/05/2018

A Financial Markets Authority report published today details how nine life and health insurance companies spent $34 million on non-financial incentives like trips, business support and conferences for financial advisers over a two-year period.   Soft commissions create the risk of conflicted conduct for advisers, as the incentives could influence the way they recommend or provide advice about products to their clients. In a report earlier this year, the FMA detailed how some registered financial advisers were unaware of their need to manage conflicts of interest while providing advice to their clients.

Shanghai Stock Exchange Releases “Q&A On Regulation Of Special Corporate Bond Financing for Poverty Alleviation”

Date 16/05/2018

In order to implement the strategic deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on poverty alleviation, and effectively enhance the support of the capital market for the tough battle on targeted poverty alleviation, according to the general requirements of the “Opinions of China Securities Regulatory Commission on Giving Play to the Role of the Capital Market in Supporting the State’s Poverty Alleviation Strategy”, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) has been vigorously carrying out relevant policies and requirements for targeted poverty alleviation. Based on the experience in the earlier pilot programs, the SSE recently issued the “Q&A of Shanghai Stock Exchange on Regulation of Corporate Bond Financing - Special Corporate Bonds for Poverty Alleviation” (the “Regulation Q&A” for short), specifying the institutional arrangements for the support of the SSE bond market for the strategy of fight against poverty.

Cryptocurrencies, Digital Currencies, And Distributed Ledger Technologies: What Are We Learning? – Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, At The Decoding Digital Currency Conferencesponsored By The Federal Reserve Bank Of San Francisco, San Francisco, California

Date 16/05/2018

It is a pleasure to be here today. What better place to discuss digital currencies than in San Francisco, home to so many technology innovators working on new ways to disrupt various aspects of our daily lives? 

Because of the transformative potential of digital currency and distributed ledger technologies, the Federal Reserve is actively monitoring digital innovations in the financial system. We have been keenly evaluating developments in fintech and digital currencies through a multidisciplinary lens, combining information technology and policy analysis to study their potential implications for payments policy, supervision and regulation, financial stability, monetary policy, and the provision of financial services. This work draws from expertise throughout the Federal Reserve System and benefits from engagement with our colleagues internationally.

NZX Announces Sale Of Farmers Weekly

Date 15/05/2018

NZX announces the sale of rural newspaper Farmers Weekly as the exchange focuses on delivering strategic initiatives that support the growth of its core markets business.

U.S. Department Of The Treasury Targets Iran’s Central Bank Governor And An Iraqi Bank Moving Millions Of Dollars For IRGC-Qods Force

Date 15/05/2018

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the Governor and a senior official of the Central Bank of Iran, an Iraq-based bank and its chairman, and a key Hizballah official, all of whom have moved millions of dollars on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to Hizballah.  They were designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.