The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has published its determination for the levy year 2021 to 2022, following its autumn consultation. Ordinarily, the PPF considers matters across the levy triennium with a view to keeping the rules relatively stable on a triennial basis. However, in considering the impact of COVID-19 on schemes, the PPF wishes to take a more flexible approach with the aim of switching back to a multi-year approach in 2023/24 ...
Bank Negara Malaysia issues Licensing Framework for Digital Banks Bank Negara Malaysia issued its policy document on Licensing Framework for Digital Banks on 31 December 2020. It has indicated in its press release that up to five licences may be issued to qualified applicants and notification of the grant of licence will only be made by the first quarter of 2022 ...
On 26 January 2021, the Central Bank of Myanmar (the “CBM”) issued Notification1/2021 (the “Notification”) outlining the requirements and specifications for the establishment, operation and business activities of non-bank financial institutions (“NBFIs”). This Notification is effective from 26 January 2021. 1 ...
Domestic extremism is not new, but heightened law enforcement scrutiny in the wake of the Capitol riots has added yet another layer of complexity to the jobs of already challenged AML compliance professionals and investigators ...
The information listed below is categorized by topic for your convenience and includes content from the previous week. Bradley is actively monitoring and engaging with relevant federal, state or local entities on issues related to the coronavirus. Please contact one of the authors if you have any questions. Click on a link below to view the full article, alert, blog, webinar recording or interview ...
An Eleventh Circuit panel has breathed new life into a long-running, $248 million False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam case, United States ex rel. Bibby v. Mortgage Investors Corp.,[1] reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendants.[2] Materiality lay at the heart of the case, which involved allegations that the defendant finance companies misled the U.S ...
Changes to the off-payroll working rules for private sector organisations originally planned for April 2020 will now come into force from 6 April 2021. As a result, large and medium sized organisations engaging contractors through an intermediary will have various responsibilities and potential liabilities ...
I. Banco de Portugal Communication of Banco de Portugal on the Synopsis of Behavioural Supervisory Activities - first half of 2020. Communication of Banco de Portugal on the imposition of a capital reserve on institutions identified as “other systemically important institutions”. Banco de Portugal Communication on the Economic Bulletin of October 2020. Communication of Banco de Portugal on the implications of Brexit ...
Not surprisingly, COVID-19 business interruption insurance disputes dominated media headlines for most of 2020. Nonetheless, there were a number of other insurance rulings that will undoubtedly shape the coverage landscape. Policyholders enjoyed a number of significant wins including significant victories related to COVID-19 business interruption cases. The start of a new year gives us an opportunity to highlight some of 2020’s most notable coverage decisions ...
Two federal cases in the Northern District of Ohio recently reached very different conclusions on whether the state’s COVID-19 shutdowns of restaurants permit valid claims for business interruption insurance coverage. Reviewing essentially the same facts and policy provisions, one court found for the insurer, holding no coverage to exist. The other found for the policyholder, awarding coverage. The opposite results will no doubt lead to further upcoming appellate activity in Ohio ...
In a scenario that has played out across the country for nearly a year now, a group of restaurants based in Ohio were ordered by government authorities to close their on-site dining operations to abate the spread of the coronavirus. However, when the restaurants sought insurance coverage for their loss of business income, their insurer, Zurich American Insurance Company, denied coverage. Last week, the U.S ...
On 27 November 2020, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK), the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) agreed to expand the scope of eligible stocks traded under the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect (collectively, Stock Connects) to include eligible A-shares listed on the SSE’s Sci-Tech Innovation Board (Star Market) as well as eligible pre-revenue biotech companies listed in Hong Kong ...
Hong Kong’s Legislative Council’s Panel on Financial Affairs discussed tax concessions for carried interest in its meeting on 4 January 2021, following the publication of a discussion paper by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB). The FSTB’s paper sets out proposals to offer a zero percent concessionary tax rate for eligible carried interest distributed by eligible private equity funds operating in Hong Kong ...
On 4 December 2020, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published its Consultation on proposals to (1) implement an investor identification regime at trading level for the securities market in Hong Kong and (2) introduce an over-the-counter securities transactions reporting regime for shares listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (Consultation). The Consultation paper is available here ...
On 18 December 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a public consultation paper (Consultation) on proposed amendments to the Code on Pooled Retirement Funds (PRF Code). The proposals are part of the SFC’s holistic review of the PRF Code following the revision of the Code on Unit Trusts and Mutual Funds (UT Code) which was implemented in 2019 ...
On 20 January 2021, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning mutual recognition of Covered Funds and Covered Management Companies and related Cooperation (MoU)establishing a bilateral framework for mutual recognition of publicly offered funds (MRF) between Thailand and Hong Kong ...
On 11 December 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released its consultation paper regarding proposals to update the entry requirements for persons seeking to be licensed to engage in regulated activities, and ongoing competency standards for intermediaries and individual practitioners (e.g. responsible officers (ROs), licensed representatives (LRs), executive officers (EOs) and relevant individuals (ReIs)) ...
On January 1, 2020, Congress overrode President Trump’s veto to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 6395 – 116th Congress (2019-20)), which includes the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “AML Act”). The AML Act revises the Bank Secrecy Act to bolster the government’s power to identify and regulate suspicious banking activity ...
In response to ongoing pleas for guidance, the Department of Labor (DOL) has published an informal outline expressing its views on how retirement plan administrators should be addressing missing or unresponsive participants. Through contrasting lists of "red flags" and "best practices," the publication reveals the DOL's expectations of plan administrators and provides helpful guideposts for them to follow ...
In perhaps the last major legislative action under this presidential administration, on New Year’s Day 2021, Congress passed—over President Trump’s veto—what could be the most significant anti-money laundering (AML) statute since the Patriot Act of 2001, as part of the annual National Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA) ...
Over the last several years, banks of all sizes have successfully partnered with emerging fintech companies to offer innovative loan products to a broader range of customers. Under a typical form of this partnership, a fintech, which is subject to the policies of the partner bank, will market loan products, take and process loan applications, and will service those loans once they are funded ...
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has just released its annual statistical overview[1] of False Claims Act (FCA) and other fraud actions for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020)[2], and the numbers tell a mixed story. The total of just over $2.2 billion in settlements and judgments represents a decline of more than one-quarter in recoveries from FY2019,[3] likely reflecting workforce, logistical, and judicial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic ...
