FINRA recently issued Regulation Notice 19-18 (the “Notice”), which provided guidance to member firms regarding their monitoring obligations with respect to suspicious activity pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and anti-money laundering (“AML”) requirements.
The Investment Firm Regulation (IFR), a new prudential framework developed by the European Commission (EC), will soon apply to all MiFID investment firms. The vast majority of investment firms will need to adapt to a new set of capital, liquidity, and reporting requirements. Whether or not you believe these rules are simpler and more proportionate to investment firms, you need to be prepared.
On May 14, Intel announced a series of security vulnerabilities in its central processing unit (CPU) chips. The vulnerabilities are collectively labeled Microarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS).
On May 13, Facebook announced a vulnerability in its popular WhatsApp messaging service. The vulnerability allows attackers to install spyware on smartphones by simply placing a voice call to WhatsApp on the device.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has made no secret of its intention to crack down on firms and individuals that fail to meet their obligations under the Market Abuse Regulations (MAR) and FCA rules.
Just when we thought the upcoming Uber IPO was the biggest news in private markets, we get a hot take from the Oracle of Omaha. At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Warren Buffett noted “[w]e have seen a number of proposals from private equity funds where the returns are really not calculated in a manner that I would regard as honest; [i]f I were running a pension fund, I would be very careful about what was being offered to me.”
We're excited that ACA has been shortlisted for Best Cyber-Security Provider, Best Portfolio Management System Provider, Best Enterprise Data Management (EDM) Systems Provider, and Best AML Compliance Solution Provider in the Waters Rankings 2019! Please take a moment to vote for us.
Hot on the heels of two well publicised MiFID I fines for transaction reporting failings, the FCA has published Market Watch 59, the content of which is totally monopolised by transaction reporting. This signals that the regulator is now squarely turning its attention to failings under the MiFID II regime. The FCA once more reinforces the importance of complete and accurate transaction reports.
The staffing needs for financial services firms are constantly evolving. The ever-changing regulatory landscape combined with the increasing adoption of regulatory technology can make finding and retaining qualified staff with the required proficiencies a challenge for HR departments and recruiters.
ACA Compliance Group and the Investment Adviser Association invite you to participate in the 2019 Investment Management Compliance Testing Survey. The survey is open to compliance professionals at SEC-registered investment advisers. The survey will remain open through Friday, May 31.
On April 18, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced that they have imposed their first-ever penalty on a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange for violating AML regulations, among other violations.
ACA’s Spring 2019 Compliance and Performance Conference is just around the corner and we want to make sure you have all the information you need to make the most of your time. Below are just a few ways to maximize your conference experience.
The total dollar amount of fines in 2018 that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (“FINRA”) Enforcement Division ordered against its member firms increased slightly to $74 million from $68 million in 2017. While the total dollar amount increased nearly nine percent, the total number of fines decreased to 209 in 2018, compared to 318 in 2017. Both the number and dollar amount of fines assessed by FINRA have fallen significantly since 2014, as the charts below show. In 2014, FINRA fined broker-dealers a record amount of nearly $129 million dollars, roughly 10 percent greater than the total dollar amount assessed in 2017 and 2018 combined.
Every anti-money laundering (AML) program should be reviewed periodically to confirm that the program is performing efficiently and effectively. Analytics can play a big role in this review by providing new insights that support evidence-based decision-making.
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