Baker McKenzie’s Financial Services Global Regulatory (FSR) Guide has been updated for 2021 to incorporate changes across the globe in this rapidly evolving regulatory environment. The Guide acts as a quick reference tool when distributing financial products into new markets, providing a comprehensive summary of regulations applicable to banks and other financial services companies around the world.
The Government has released exposure draft legislation to update the Payments Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 (PSRA). This follows consultation conducted in June 2023 to “modernize” the application of the PSRA and to ensure the framework appropriately regulates emerging and future payment functions.
The FCA’s final rules for cryptoasset financial promotions, published in June 2023, will take effect from Sunday, 8 October 2023. Those marketing in-scope cryptoassets to UK consumers, including those based overseas, will need to ensure without delay that preparations are in place for the start of the rules.
On 19 September 2023, the law dated 7 August 2023 overhauling the centenary law of associations and foundations (“Law”) was published in the Luxembourg official gazette. The Law repeals the law of 21 April 1928 on non-profit associations and foundations. The Law aims to lighten and modernize the legal framework for non-profit associations and foundations and provide more accounting transparency to guarantee better control and thus create a new legal framework that meets the current associative and charitable sector’s needs.
In this update, we take high-level review of major issues faced by private fund managers investing across the globe. In August and September, private fund managers with U.S. investors faced the broadest expansion of SEC regulation since Dodd-Frank, while European managers worked through the details of ESG reporting. Enforcement continued to be laser-focused on digital assets (but courts didn’t always agree with them), Finfluencers, custody and marketing, while new employment and privacy requirements raised unique issues for asset managers.
Law Number 4 of 2023 on the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector has placed OJK in a more central position to investigate crimes in the financial services sector. As an implementing rule, OJK has issued Regulation Number 16 of 2023 on Investigation of Crimes in the Financial Services Sector which covers, among other things, the general scope of crimes in financial services sector, members of authorized teams of investigators, the investigative authorities and powers, and available alternative settlement mechanics.
Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled Wagner is proscribed by the UK government on 15 September 2023. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.
Important amendments to the Companies Act, No. 71 of 2008, which came into effect on 1 April 2023 and the Companies Regulations, 2011, which came into effect on 24 May 2023, have implications for companies registered and incorporated in accordance with the laws of South Africa.
In 2022 and 2023, following the collapse of the key global players in the crypto industry, regulators around the world closely scrutinized crypto activities and tightened the regulations for digital asset businesses. This tightening primarily concerns the protection and segregation of customers’ assets, which has become standard practice since the crypto crash. To keep up with the dynamic and evolving regulatory developments, we have revised this publication to provide an updated overview of regulations pertaining to digital assets in Thailand.
On 31 August 2023, the Financial Information Unit (UIF, for its Spanish acronym) issued Resolution UIF No. 169/2023, by which new guidelines were established for the management of money laundering and terrorist financing risks and minimum compliance for obliged entities of the sector (companies that carry out capitalization and savings operations) in order to manage procedures of control for risks generated by possible money laundering and terrorist financing actions by third parties. The Resolution will become effective on 1 November 2023.