MyComplianceOffice Blog

The European Market Abuse Regulations (MAR) have been in effect since July of 2016. Regulatory priorities in the UK and across Europe demonstrate that MAR is hardly old news, remaining a consistent focus since its inception. And regulatory enforcement shows that even eight plus years in, firms are still struggling to stay compliant with MAR regulations and the flow of insider information across their organizations.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has released new guidelines for market sounding (Guidelines), which will come into effect on 02 May 2025. Firms carrying out market soundings in Hong Kong need to be aware of the actions and regulatory takeaways contained within these guidelines.

Violations are a sensitive area for any firm. No one wants to deal with compliance issues. The reality for compliance officers, however, is that someday, something will happen. How you handle the issues – how you identify them, mitigate them and analyze them – reflects the strength of your compliance program.

A recent case in Hong Kong has sent a clear signal to financial firms about the dangers of failing to manage material non-public information (MNPI) effectively. The Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT) ordered the wife of a chauffeur to disgorge $106,968 in illicit profit gained from the insider dealing activity.