Latest FCA and PRA fines against a retail bank show little tolerance for poor outsourcing systems and controls. By Fiona M. Maclean, Christian F. McDermott, Laura Holden, and Charlotte Collins On 29 May 2019, the FCA and PRA announced that they had fined an independent UK bank for failing to manage its outsourcing arrangements properly between April 2014 and December 2016. The bank received separate fines of £775,100 from the FCA and…

FinCEN’s guidance clarifies the applicability of the BSA to a variety of virtual currency businesses. By Todd Beauchamp, Charles Weinstein, Loyal T. Horsley, Cameron R. Kates, and Shaun Musuka On May 9, the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued interpretive guidance expanding on previously issued guidance and rulings regarding the application of the Bank Secrecy Act and FinCEN’s implementing regulations (collectively, the BSA) to a variety…

The paper discusses supervision and regulatory issues of cryptocurrencies, and finds that a central bank digital currency in the EU is not (yet) warranted. By Max von Cube In May, the European Central Bank’s Crypto-Assets Task Force published a paper on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, and Ripple (referred to as narrowly defined “crypto-assets”). The paper, titled “Crypto-Assets: Implications for financial stability, monetary policy, and payments and market infrastructures,” follows similar recent publications by the…

The online document generator helps startups raise capital with customizable market standard terms and optional digital token provisions. By David L. Concannon, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink, Miles P. Jennings, and Shaun Musuka In collaboration with ConsenSys and OpenLaw, Latham & Watkins recently launched the Automated Convertible Note Generator, a complimentary tool designed to assist startups with capital raises. The Automated Convertible Note is a potential solution for capital…

Report highlights key strengths and regulatory innovations to inform stakeholders for trade and investment. By Laura Holden and Nootan Vegad The Department for International Trade, with the support of Innovate Finance, has published a report titled the “FinTech State of the Nation”. Providing an overview of the UK’s FinTech industry and highlighting the UK’s appeal as a FinTech destination for entrepreneurs and investors, the report seeks to demonstrate how the UK’s FinTech sector has emerged…

As several PSD2 deadlines approach, PSPs must comply with reporting and notification requirements, as well as with their GDPR obligations. By Christian F. McDermott, Fiona M. Maclean, and Jagveen Tyndall Though the majority of the provisions relating to the revised EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2) came into force in the UK on 13 January 2018, the regulatory technical standards (RTS) and strong customer authentication measures (SCA) will come into force on 14 September…

Federal court allows NYSDFS lawsuit against OCC FinTech charter to proceed, raising further questions about the charter’s viability. By Alan W. Avery, Todd Beauchamp, Loyal T. Horsley, Pia Naib, and Charles Weinstein In a May 2 order, US District Court Judge Victor Marrero rejected the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC’s) recent motion to dismiss the New York State Department of Financial Services’ (NYSDFS’) new lawsuit challenging the…