The DSA has a broad scope and regulates many aspects of digital services, including in the fintech space. By Gail E. Crawford, Jean-Luc Juhan, Susan Kempe-Mueller, Deborah J. Kirk, Lars Kjølbye, Elisabetta Righini, Sven B. Völcker, Ben Leigh, Victoria Wan, and Amy Smyth As a key part of the EU’s digital regulation strategy, the Digital … Continue Reading
The guidelines set out the MAS’ expectation that digital payment token service providers should not promote their services to the general public in Singapore. By Simon Hawkins, Farhana Sharmeen, and Tan Gen Huong On 17 January 2022, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the MAS) issued new guidelines (the Guidelines) setting out restrictions on the promotion … Continue Reading
The Clarity for Digital Tokens Act of 2021 would give token issuers the guardrails they need to innovate with far less regulatory anxiety. By Stephen P. Wink and Deric Behar US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce has always been something of a maverick. She has been a lone dissenting voice on the … Continue Reading
SEC Commissioner Peirce has revived and refreshed her proposed three-year safe harbor for qualifying token projects, but some unresolved ambiguities remain. By Miles P. Jennings, Stephen P. Wink, Naim Culhaci, and Deric Behar US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce, a longtime and vocal advocate for innovation in financial services, has not shied … Continue Reading
In a year-end change of course, the SEC identified the minimum steps that broker-dealers must take when acting as custodians of digital asset securities. By Stephen P. Wink, Naim Culhaci, Shaun Musuka, and Deric Behar On December 23, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff issued a statement (Custody of Digital Asset Securities … Continue Reading
In a new publication, ISDA explores the benefits of digitization and blockchain solutions for global foreign exchange derivatives markets. By Yvette D. Valdez, Adam Bruce Fovent, and Deric Behar As blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) use cases continue to grow across the broad spectrum of financial markets, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. … Continue Reading
The HKMA introduces a new data sharing initiative, reported on the central bank digital currency initiative, and outlined regtech plans. By Simon Hawkins, Kieran Donovan, and Kenneth Y.F. Hui The fifth annual Hong Kong Fintech Week conference kicked off with speeches and panels from both Hong Kong and international regulatory representatives, in addition to key … Continue Reading
New resource developed following increased regulatory focus on outsourcing. Latham & Watkins has partnered with the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) and law firms Matheson and BSP to develop: Outsourcing – Guidance on the Legal and Regulatory Framework, a pioneering resource examining the key European legislation, rules, and guidance for financial services firms … Continue Reading
An ECON draft report on digital finance recommends legislative action in relation to cryptoassets and cyber resilience and a framework for digital onboarding. By Stuart Davis, Sam Maxson, and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 4 June 2020, the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) published a draft report setting out its recommendations to the European … Continue Reading
The report encourages the G20 to consider a broad set of supervisory principles when evaluating global stablecoin arrangements. By Todd Beauchamp, Stuart Davis, Christian F. McDermott, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink, Simon Hawkins, and Deric Behar On April 14, 2020, the G20’s Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a consultation on the regulation, supervision, and … Continue Reading
Call for input: market players need to engage with the process for the procurement of the NPA By Stuart Davis, David Little, Christian McDermott, Brett Carr, and Nathan Wilkins This Call for Input is part of the development of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) policy for the future regulation of the newly procured New Payments … Continue Reading
Product innovation (including in pooled investment vehicles) is encouraged, but innovation must be consistent with the law. By Yvette D. Valdez, Douglas K. Yatter, J. Ashley Weeks, and Deric Behar The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) Director Joshua B. Sterling issued a statement on February 10, … Continue Reading
The final guidelines create new obligations for insurers that will impact cloud outsourcing arrangements. By Fiona M. Maclean, Andrew C. Moyle, and Victoria Sander On 6 February 2020, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published its final guidelines on outsourcing to cloud service providers (CSPs) (the Guidelines). The Guidelines have been finalised following … Continue Reading
CBDCs will have a profound effect on the financial markets, and policy-makers must thoroughly consider the complex legal and regulatory issues. By Stuart Davis, Andrew Moyle, and Simon Hawkins Latham & Watkins lawyers are pleased to have contributed to the World Economic Forum’s CBDC Policy-Maker Toolkit. This resource is designed to provide a high-level decision … Continue Reading
In two recent articles, Latham & Watkins lawyers examine the SEC’s guidance on the application of securities regulations to digital assets and the questions that remain unanswered. By Stephen P. Wink, Witold Balaban, John J. Sikora, Miles P. Jennings, Emanuel V. Francone, Cameron R. Kates, and Shaun Musuka Digital Asset Regulation: Howey Evolves In this … Continue Reading
Call for input: Industry needs to engage as the FCA moves forward on its transformative vision for open finance. By Stuart Davis and Brett Carr Imagine a world in which you could access your bank accounts, credit cards, mortgage, pensions, savings accounts and ISAs, brokerage account, home and car insurance, life insurance, and other financial … Continue Reading
It was a year filled with tantalizing tidbits and many loose ends. By Stephen P. Wink, Cameron R. Kates, Shaun Musuka, and Deric Behar 2019 marked the 10th year since blockchain technology was released into the wild by its still unknown inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, who mined the first bitcoin block in January 2009. In the … Continue Reading
The US agency has used a no-action letter to enable a sandbox-like approach to blockchain-based trade settlements. By Stephen P. Wink, Cameron R. Kates, Shaun Musuka, and Deric Behar In what may be the first regulator-approved application of blockchain technology for the settlement of US equities trades, the Division of Trading and Markets of the … Continue Reading
As the agency pursues and prevents offerings of tokens it deems unregistered securities, further issues emerge. By John J. Sikora Jr., Stephen P. Wink, Douglas K. Yatter, Cameron R. Kates, Shaun Musuka, and Deric Behar The recent wave of US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions relating to initial coin offerings (ICOs) continues with … Continue Reading
Insights from Latham’s flagship event: Managing the risk and promise of digitisation in financial services. By Fiona Maclean, Stuart Davis, and Alistair Wye In a bid to keep pace with rapid advances in cloud adoption across financial services, regulators have published a raft of new guidance in the past year. Most recently, the European Insurance … Continue Reading
UK Treasury Committee report warns that the current level and frequency of disruption and consumer harm is unacceptable. By Carl Simon Fernandes, Nicola Higgs, Fiona M. Maclean, Christian F. McDermott, Rob Moulton, Andrew C. Moyle, Stuart Davis, and Charlotte Collins On 28 October 2019, the Treasury Committee published a report on IT failures in the financial services sector. The … Continue Reading
Global monetary authorities and financial regulators have responded forcefully to the advent of privately developed global stablecoins. By Todd Beauchamp, David L. Concannon, Stephen P. Wink, Simon Hawkins, Stuart Davis, and Deric Behar A new report highlights the risks of global stablecoins and enumerates the legal, regulatory, and oversight hurdles a global stablecoin must clear … Continue Reading
Insights from Latham’s flagship event: Managing the risk and promise of digitisation in financial services Authors: Andrew Moyle, Nicola Higgs, Christian McDermott, and Kirsty Watkins. The financial services industry is leading the way in outsourcing, with contract values in excess of US$10.7 billion in 2018, causing regulators to focus more than ever on the associated … Continue Reading
In line with its previous guidance, FINRA has granted broker-dealer (but not custodian) status to a digital asset platform. By Stephen P. Wink, Cameron R. Kates, Shaun Musuka, and Deric Behar In a follow-up to the July 2019 SEC and FINRA joint staff statement (Joint Statement) clarifying the regulators’ position on the custody of digital … Continue Reading
