On 26 August 2019, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced that it has completed a review of its framework for the provision of Hong Kong dollar liquidity (the Liquidity Facilities Framework) to authorized institutions (AIs) in light of its ongoing work on Hong Kong’s resolution regime.  As part of this, the HKMA has introduced a new resolution facility and incorporated various refinements to its existing Liquidity Facilities Framework. The updated Liquidity Facilities Framework takes…

Partners from our global FinTech team flew in from Hong Kong, Vancouver, London and Dallas to join our New York team to attend Consensus and Blockchain week in NYC (13-15 May).  Consensus is an annual global conference which brings together the world’s most innovative minds to explore and debate the future of blockchain and crypto. There were two topics which attracted considerable attention on which we have provided our key takeaways below. Central bank digital…

With effect from 23 September 2019, the Hong Kong Insurance Authority (the IA), an independent statutory body, will take over regulation of insurance intermediaries from the three existing self-regulatory organisations (the Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers, the Professional Insurance Brokers Association, and Insurance Agents Registration Board) and administer a new statutory licensing regime. The new statutory licensing regime will capture a broader scope of regulated activities than under the existing regime. Those currently licensed…

In this on-demand webinar, members of our Regulatory, Compliance and Investigations team in London, France, the US and Hong Kong give their thoughts on likely regulatory enforcement and sanctions trends for the rest of this year based on recent enforcement cases and forward looking statements from the regulators. Topics discussed include individual accountability, anti-money laundering and cybersecurity. To access the webinar, please click the below link and enter your details when requested.   https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1900629/CE0C95915E3A7CF20DB873DC36966D7B…

On 4 April 2019, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released the conclusions of its consultation on proposed guidelines for securities margin financing activities (the Guidelines). The existing conduct requirements for securities margin financing activities are mainly prescribed in the Code of Conduct for Persons Licensed by or Registered with the SFC and the Management, Supervision and Internal Control Guidelines for Persons Licensed by or Registered with the SFC. The current conduct requirements are high…

On 28 March 2019, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published a statement reminding parties who engage in security token offerings (STOs) to be aware of the applicable legal and regulatory requirements.  This statement is helpful given that STOs are a relatively new form of token issuance. STOs are specific offerings which are structured to have features of traditional security offerings, and involve security tokens which are digital representations of ownership of assets (e.g. gold…

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) have shone a light on the risks associated with crypto-assets in a statement issued on 13 March 2019, calling on banks who acquire exposures to crypto-assets to take appropriate and specific measures to mitigate such risks. The BCBS is the primary global standard setter for the prudential regulation of banks.  Its mandate is to strengthen the regulation, supervision and practices of banks globally. The BCBS’ members consist of…