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Developing Financial Markets In Changing Times, Speech At Law Society’s Forum, Mr Tim Lui, Chairman, Hong Kong Securities And Futures Commission, 11 July 2023

Date 12/07/2023

Honorary guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Today I want to speak to you as a market regulator about how the SFC steers the development of financial markets to ensure Hong Kong remains a leading capital raising centre and investment hub.

SGX Group Reports Market Statistics For June 2023

Date 12/07/2023

• FX daily volume achieves record high, rises above US$100 billion for the first time
• Commodities volume jumps by a third in first six months of 2023

New Zealand Financial Markets Authority Releases Standard Condition For Consultation To Improve Operational And Cyber Resilience

Date 12/07/2023

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko –  today released a consultation document on its proposal to introduce a new standard condition for certain financial market licence holders.  The new licence condition will focus on business continuity and technology systems. 

SIFMA Statement On House Passage Of Bill Related To MiFID II No-Action Relief

Date 11/07/2023

SIFMA today issued the following statement from president and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. on the passage of H.R. 2622:

“SIFMA applauds the House for its overwhelmingly bipartisan vote to pass H.R. 2622, which directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to extend the MiFID II no-action relief for six months and study the potential impact of the relief’s expiration on investors.  The no-action relief the SEC, allowed to expire on July 3, 2023, addressed a conflict between longstanding U.S. law and the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).  This lack of SEC action negatively impacts the competitiveness of the U.S. market for investment research and poses a significant risk that impacted buyside managers and the investors they serve will lose access to important research services. The relief, initially adopted by the SEC in 2017, has been critical to addressing this conflict-of-law problem.  Importantly, both the EU and the United Kingdom are poised to substantially revise MiFID II with respect to payment for research and the SEC should extend its relief until such time so that U.S. law is not subordinated."

BOX Exchange Update: Bid-Ask Differentials For Various Symbols Through September 15,

Date 11/07/2023

BOX Exchange LLC (“BOX”), recently distributed Notice 2023-172 detailing modified bid-ask differentials for certain option classes effective through September 15, 2023.

US Office Of The Comptroller Of The Currency Assesses $60 Million Civil Money Penalty Against Bank Of America Related To Bank’s Overdraft Program

Date 11/07/2023

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced a $60 million civil money penalty against Bank of America, N.A., for violations of law relating to its practice of assessing multiple overdraft and insufficient funds fees against customers for a single transaction.

CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero Announces Scott Lee As Senior Counsel And Policy Advisor

Date 11/07/2023

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero announced today that Scott Lee will serve as her Senior Counsel and Policy Advisor. 

SEC Charges Merrill Lynch And Parent Company For Failing To File Suspicious Activity Reports

Date 11/07/2023

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and its parent company BAC North America Holding Co. (BACNAH) for failing to file hundreds of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from 2009 to late 2019. Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a $6 million penalty to settle the SEC charges and, in a parallel action, Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a separate $6 million fine to settle charges brought by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

ETFGI Reports Assets Invested In The ETFs Industry In The United States Reached A Record US$7.32 Trillion At The End Of June

Date 11/07/2023

ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETFs ecosystem, reported today assets invested in the ETFs industry in the United States reached a record US$7.32 trillion at the end of June beating the prior record of US$7.21 trillion set at the end of December 2021.  During June the ETFs industry in the United States gathered net inflows of US$73.59 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to US$227.96 billion, according to ETFGI's June 2023 US ETFs and ETPs industry landscape insights report, the monthly report which is part of an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)

Supervisors Of Banks Are Making Progress In The Fight Against Financial Crime, The EBA Finds

Date 11/07/2023

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today the findings from its 2022 review of competent authorities’ approaches to tackling money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks in the banking sector. For this Report, the EBA staff assessed 12 competent authorities from nine Member States.