On 12 August 2020, the Dutch Ministry of Finance published a Guideline on Financial Sanctions Legislation (the Guideline). The Guideline serves as a general explanation about the effect of financial sanctions measures in the Netherlands and aims to clarify the implementation of the sanction measures for the parties involved. The Guideline consists of a general part containing an introduction to the financial sanctions measures that apply in the Netherlands, followed by a list of frequently…

On 12 August 2020, the Wolfsberg Group published its statement on developing an effective anti-money laundering (AML) / counter-terrorism financing (CTF) programme. In December 2019, the Wolfsberg Group published a statement on effectiveness which encourages jurisdictions to adopt the Financial Action Task Force’s focus on effective outcomes. As part of that statement, the Wolfsberg Group outlined what it believes are the key elements of an effective AML/CTF programme. Since the publication of the statement, the…

Over recent months, the FCA has published a raft of guidance for firms to help prevent consumer harm in light of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. On 12 August, the FCA wrote directly to CEOs of firms who provide non-discretionary investment services to clients requiring them to take action to prevent harm to clients. This Dear CEO letter was issued in response to a number firms who hold client money reporting an increase (in some cases…

On 12 August 2020, the Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC) published its response to the Ministry of Justice consultation on whether to extend the power under section 26(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (2020 Withdrawal Act). Section 26(1) of the 2020 Withdrawal Act empowers HM Government to designate additional courts and tribunals (over and above the UK Supreme Court and the High Court of Justiciary) as having the ability to depart from…

On 12 August 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) launched a RegTech industry survey inviting all relevant stakeholders to share their views and experience on the use of RegTech solutions, on a best effort basis. The EBA has prepared two separate RegTech questionnaires. One is to be completed by financial institutions, and the other one by information and communication technology (ICT) third party providers. Both questionnaires are composed of a general part, aimed at collecting…

On 11 August 2020, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a report, Liquidity provision in the secondary markets for equity securities. The report identifies some of the key elements of market making programs that may help promote the provision of liquidity, strengthen investor confidence and foster fair and efficient markets. The report focuses only on liquidity provision in equity securities and does not extend to other asset classes such as exchange traded…

On 11 August 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a report on banks’ ICAAP practices. The internal capital adequacy assessment process (ICAAP) has been and remains one of ECB banking supervision’s top supervisory priorities since they were first published in 2016. The report summarises the results of a structured analysis of ICAAP practices, describing the range of ICAAP practices observed in a sample of 37 banks. The analysis underlines areas where banks’ practices appear…