MyComplianceOffice Blog

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Regulators, have issued a joint letter detailing their observations about how the banking industry has implemented measures to comply with the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR).

Regulators around the globe are taking a firm stance against off-channel communications. In the US, the SEC recently charged 26 firms related to extensive record keeping failures, resulting in around US$390 million in penalties. In the UK, the FCA has issued comparatively smaller fines—though the regulator is now calling on banks to report staff breaches of encrypted messaging policies. The move reveals the FCA’s intent to gain a much deeper understanding of how apps like WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram are currently used within financial services.

The financial services industry brings substantial responsibilities for those working within it, often far beyond other professions. After all, dealing with money brings significant consequences when managed incorrectly. The outcomes of improper financial management, unethical behaviour, and conflicts of interest can impact not only the lives of clients but also financial advisers who fail to meet the standards of regulators or their firms.

The Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) issues a 6-month ban on a trader for concealing a significant trade execution error and only reporting the incident to management and compliance 4 days later.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has imposed a lifetime ban on a former Associate Director of a multinational investment bank and financial services company from re-entering the city’s financial industry.