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.

Failing to adequately manage Material Non-Public Information (MNPI) remains a high-risk area for compliance, as evidenced by recent actions in the United States, the United Kingdom and across the globe for issues including insufficient insider trading compliance policies, market abuse and failure to effectively manage insider information.

It's been almost one year the Consumer Duty came into force, setting higher and clearer standards for consumer protection across the financial services industry. 31 July 2024 will be a milestone date, marking not just the anniversary of the Duty but also implementation for closed products and the first Board Report due date.

Financial services firms are among the most heavily regulated organizations worldwide. From the FCA to the SEC to ESMA to MAS and beyond, financial services firms are subject to a web of compliance requirements and obligations. It’s not enough to simply be compliant with these requirements—each firm has to be able to prove it.

That’s where compliance certifications and attestations come into play.

Personal Account Dealing, when employees gain personal profit from inside information or other data that they became aware of in their professional capacity, is an area of inherent risk for any firm in the financial services sector.