CUBE RegNews:
3rd August
Consultation on complete cold calling ban
HM Treasury is consulting on extending the existing ban on pensions cold calling to all other aspects of the retail financial services industry. In the consultation, the government invites responses on the scope of the activities, persons and products captured in a ban on cold calling for financial services and products, as well as a proposed method for how the government may enact this ban.
As set out in the government’s recent Fraud Strategy, fraud is the largest crime type and now accounts for over 40% of all estimated crime in England and Wales. 1 In 2022 there were 3.7 million estimated fraud offences, and 1 in 15 adults were a victim of fraud.
The deadline for comments on the consultation is 27th September.
BoE consultation on discretionary payments by central counterparties
The Bank of England has issued a new consultation paper outlining the Bank’s proposed approach to its new power to temporarily restrict or prohibit discretionary payments to shareholders or employees of recognised UK central counterparties (CCPs) in severe circumstances. This power was granted to the Bank by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023. The CP seeks feedback on the Bank’s draft statement of policy (SoP) titled ‘Ensuring continuity of critical clearing services: the Bank of England’s approach to discretionary payments by central counterparties.’
The CP proposes the following:
- The Bank’s approach to the statutory conditions for using the power, including the circumstances in which a direction to restrict or prohibit discretionary payments could be given.
- The process for giving any direction under this power.
The proposed SoP aims to clarify the factors the Bank may consider when assessing the statutory conditions for using the power, the circumstances under which the conditions might be met, and the Bank’s approach to using the power to protect and enhance UK financial stability by ensuring the continuity of critical clearing services.
The consultation closes on Friday 17 November 2023
Fed aids AML examination manual revisions
In response to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s updates to six sections of the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual (the manual), the Federal Reserve has released a new Supervision & Regulation letter to provide further transparency into the examination process and support risk-focused examination work for sections of the Bank Secrecy Act.
The updated sections include regulatory requirements for information sharing, due diligence for correspondent accounts and private banking accounts, prohibition on correspondent accounts for foreign shell banks, law enforcement access to foreign bank records, and provisions relating to the comprehensive Iran sanctions.
The revisions to the manual are intended to clarify and reinforce distinctions between regulatory requirements and considerations set forth in guidance. Some existing sections of the manual have been reorganised to create new, individual sections based on specific regulations.
CUBE RegNews:
A selected summary of key developments for regulated financial institutions
Access all of our daily regulatory content by using the login button below.
To find out more about how CUBE can help your business click here.
