While many traditional financial institutions hesitate to embrace cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, a recent news report suggests that Fidelity Investments, the fourth largest U.S. asset manager, is looking to enter the fray. Business Insider reported last week that Fidelity has posted internal job listings for systems engineers “to help engineer, create, and deploy a digital asset exchange to both a public and private cloud.” Another job listing looked for experience related to “first-in-class custodian services…

President Trump recently signed into law the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, which is already making waves in the financial sector for its repeal of certain Dodd-Frank provisions that were passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Banks and other financial institutions should take note, however, that the Act also contains provisions designed to facilitate the modernization of  certain banking practices. As one example, the new law includes the Making…

On April 10, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) members issued a joint statement discussing cyber insurance and its potential role in the risk management programs of financial institutions. Members of the FFEIC include the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and State Liaison Committee. Cyber insurance covers losses related to cyber-attacks and…

On March 1, 2018, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) “cybersecurity regulations” (23 NYCRR Part 500) took effect, placing a number of cybersecurity requirements on banks, insurance companies, and other financial services institutions and licensees regulated by the NYDFS (“Covered Entities”). To aid in compliance with the regulation, the NYDFS recently added new guidance regarding Covered Entitles to its Frequently Asked Questions. The FAQs were last updated in December 2017, and the revisions…

Researchers at cybersecurity firm AlienVault have discovered a computer virus of North Korean origin which infects and hijacks computers in order to mine Monero, a private digital currency which styles itself as “secure, private and untraceable.” Cryptocurrency mining is the resource-intensive process by which computers or “miners” running specific software verify cryptocurrency transactions. In exchange for their computing power, miners are given small amounts of cryptocurrency. In the case of North Korean’s Monero malware, the…

Top mutual fund firm The Vanguard Group, Inc. unveiled a plan last week to incorporate blockchain smart contract technology into some of its indexing operations beginning early next year. Vanguard’s initiative will be carried out through a partnership with the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) and technology provider Symbiont and is intended to simplify Vanguard’s index data sharing process. By utilizing a dedicated blockchain network created by Symbiont, Vanguard hopes to make CRSP…

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued an advisory on September 20 warning U.S. financial institutions of “money laundering schemes used by corrupt Venezuelan officials.” The advisory was addressed to Private Banking Units, Chief Risk Officers, Chief Compliance Officers, AML/BSA Analysts, Sanctions Analysts and Bank Legal Departments, and identified a number of red flags to help financial institutions spot instances where corrupt senior politicians may be attempting to use…