The FCA last week published proposals to extend the SM&CR to almost all regulated firms – FCA Consultation Paper (CP17/25) – Senior Managers and Certification Regime (“SM&CR”) Why Jonathan Davidson, Executive Director of Supervision- Retail & Authorisations at the FCA, said: “Culture and governance in financial services and its impact on consumer outcomes is a […]

On 2 August 2017, the FCA published a webpage in the light of research it commissioned relating to new technologies and firms’ anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. The FCA commissioned consultants to carry out a survey on emerging technologies with the potential for enhancing financial firms’ work to detect and prevent money laundering, and for helping […]

On 22 June 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a new fact-sheet entitled ‘Good Cyber Security – the foundations’, aimed at increasing awareness of cyber security risks amongst firms in the financial sector. In particular, the fact sheet draws attention to the increasing rate of cyber attacks and to focus attention on practical steps […]

On 5 July 2017, the FCA published its anti-money laundering (AML) annual report for 2016/17. In the FCA’s fourth AML annual report it explains how it has sought to achieve its AML objectives over the last year. Points of interest in the report include the following: Developments in AML supervision strategy. The FCA continues to […]

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed that Financial advisers will either have to record or take notes on any phone calls with clients that are “intended to result in a transaction being undertaken”, In its latest Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) policy statement, the regulator has allowed advice firms of all […]

US and UK regulators continue to focus on enforcement actions against institutions and individuals for violations of anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations, and the trend is intensifying. A review of recent US and UK enforcement cases reveals common themes financial institutions might consider when establishing or assessing the effectiveness of AML programs. Specifically, regulators […]

A former UBS Group AG compliance officer was charged by U.K. regulators with passing tips on five occasions to a London man who traded on the information, according to court records. Fabiana Abdel-Malek, 34, and Walid Choucair, 38, were each charged with five counts of insider dealing between June 2013 and June 2014, a court […]

The FCA has published a webpage advising firms to review newly published guidance from the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) with respect to the recent ransomware attack. The attack involves the “WannaCry” malware encrypting files and providing users with a ransom demand, countdown and a bitcoin wallet for payment of the ransom. The NCSC […]