MyComplianceOffice Blog

The CEO of any financial firm will tell you regulatory compliance is one of their organization’s greatest challenges. The compliance part is easy. Regulators tell a firm what to do. Then they must do it or face often severe legal and financial penalties along with reputational damage. It’s HOW to create and implement effective compliance programs in efficient and affordable ways that presents issues for firms.  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it has received just 29 responses to a call for feedback on its final consultation regarding planned Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) changes. The FCA said "most" responses were supportive of its proposals, but some firms asked for additional clarity on how the new rules would apply to them. 

What makes a high impact compliance program? Given the state of many corporate compliance programs, it’s a question we get a lot. Here at MCO, we look at more than just the checklist of activities or the features or even the hotline to report potential violations. Fundamentally, business has shifted from simple checklists to how behavior is being impacted.

The month of June ended what has been one of the most active half-years in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement ever according to Thomas Fox. The attorney recently covered the subject in a JD Supra blog, citing many high-profile cases in 2019 along with the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) revised guidance on evaluating corporate compliance programs.  

On May 7, 2019, U.S. Representative James Himes (D-Conn) introduced the “Insider Trading Prohibition Act,” which would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, by inserting a new section that defines the elements of criminal insider trading. The bill was passed unanimously in the House Financial Services Committee on May 10.