Structural Regulation

SEBI Relaxes Public Shareholding Requirement for Listed Entities

16/05/2020

The move will mean promoters with more than 75% shareholding in a listed company will not have to divest their holdings while the current challenging environment persists.

Anti-Money Laundering

Westpac Files Defence in Federal Court on its AML/CTF Failures

16/05/2020

While Westpac made a number of admissions regarding AUSTRAC’s claims, the bank said the majority of its international money transfers were correctly reported.

Capital Adequacy

SFC Declines to Take Action Against HSBC for No-dividend Decision

15/05/2020

Some investors in HSBC alleged the bank failed to safeguard their interests. Others questioned whether the bank’s discussions with the Bank of England were disclosed in a timely manner.

Model Risk

CCP Margin Models May Need Fine-tuning: BIS Paper

15/05/2020

Some CCP margin models underestimate market volatility because they rely on a short period of historical price movements from tranquil times, the paper says.

Trading & Investment

ISDA Publishes Final Report on Pre-cessation Fallbacks for LIBOR

15/05/2020

ISDA expects to publish amendments to the 2006 ISDA Definitions to incorporate the fallbacks for new trades in July, along with a protocol to allow participants to incorporate the revisions into legacy trades.

Liquidity Risk

Sri Lanka Central Bank Bans Dividends, Share Buybacks at Banks

15/05/2020

Foreign banks are prohibited from repatriating profits. LCR and NSFR requirements have been reduced to 90%. Banks are told to refrain from non-essential expenditures.

Structural Regulation

China Issues Guidelines on Greater Bay Opening Up

15/05/2020

The PBOC will pilot cross-border PE and VC investments and explore the establishment of a futures exchange in Guangzhou and an international commercial bank to serve Greater Bay Area.

Structural Regulation

China Admits Fitch Subsidiary into Onshore Credit Rating Market

15/05/2020

China had committed to removing restrictions on US credit rating agencies entering its markets under the trade agreement with the US in January.

Sustainable Finance

Hong Kong Launches New Certification Scheme for ESG Funds

14/05/2020

The new green finance certification scheme for ESG funds is an extension of the HKQAA’s certification service for green funds, launched in September 2019.