Financial services: Regulation tomorrow

Our popular multinational Financial services: Regulation tomorrow blog offers a convenient worldwide resource for those keeping track of the evolving and complex financial services regulatory environment.

It reports on a broad range of financial services regulatory developments and provides insight and commentary across Australia, Canada, the UK/EU and the United States.

The blog also features an easy to use search function, subscription service and a dedicated page that lists forthcoming Norton Rose Fulbright financial services seminars.

Examples of recent blog postings include:

Australia

• In its recent Strategic Outlook paper the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) discusses the key challenge of digital disruption: Digital disruption among the key challenges for ASIC in 2014-2015
• The ASIC has released a proposed Class Order that may have an impact on the Product Disclosure Statements of Australian MySuper, choice super and managed investment products: Super and managed fund fee disclosure under ASIC’s scrutiny….again
• The next few months provide a crucial opportunity for participants in the Australian financial services industry to influence the final report of the Australian Financial System Inquiry headed by David Murray: Crucial next steps for the Murray inquiry

Canada

• The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has issued an updated guideline setting out its expectations with respect to the derivatives activities of federally regulated financial institutions: OFSI issues new derivatives best practices guideline
• The OFSI has released the final version of its new leverage requirements guideline which is based on the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision’s publication ‘Basel III Leverage Ratio Framework and Disclosure Requirements’: OFSI finalises new liquidity test for banks
• The Minister of Finance has announced that the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick and the Canadian federal government have signed a memorandum of agreement formalizing the terms and conditions of a cooperative capital markets regulatory system: Cooperative capital markets regulatory system moves a step closer

UK/EU

• The European Commission has adopted its first equivalence decisions for the regulatory regimes of central counterparties in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore: First equivalence decisions for central counterparty regulatory regimes adopted
• The Prudential Regulation Authority has published its final policy approach to supervising UK branches of banks based outside the European Economic Area: Supervising international banks: the PRA’s approach to branch supervision
• Our new briefing note discusses the UCITS V Directive which entered into force on 17 September 2014 and makes certain changes to the EU funds regime: UCITS V briefing

United States

• We consider the recent report from the Over-the-Counter Derivatives Regulators Group, that provided the G20 with an update on the resolution of key cross-border derivatives reform implementation issues: 3 thoughts on global regulators’ update to G20 on derivatives cross-border implementation
• The US federal banking regulators have announced the final adoption of the liquidity coverage ratio for large financial institutions under their supervision: US banking regulators finalise liquidity coverage ratio rules
• The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a risk alert resulting from its examination of broker-dealer controls involving customer sales of unregistered securities: SEC issues risk alert on broker-dealer controls regarding sales of unregistered securities and brings enforcement action

Global

• We have produced a comparative analysis of how senior management responsibility in banks is being treated in different jurisdictions around the world: Senior management responsibility in banks
• We consider how different jurisdictions deal with the on-going competency assessment of those involved in the financial services industry following a notice issued by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada: The principal Canadian securities self-regulatory organisation initiates consultation regarding proficiency services