Market Risk

S. Korea Defers Initial Margin Requirements by One Year

06/05/2020

The move is in line with the BCBS-IOSCO decision announced in April, and will help to ease the compliance burden on financial institutions amid the Covid-19 crisis.

Trading & Investment

FSC Designates Six Brokers to Specialise in SME Investment

06/05/2020

The designation will be valid for two years, allowing the brokers to receive preferential policy incentives for boosting investment in SMEs.

Structural Regulation

Singapore Allows Electronic Dissemination of Offer Documents

06/05/2020

Electronic dissemination will enable rights issues and takeover or merger transactions to take place while reducing the need for staff to be physically present at workplaces.

Credit Risk

SEBI Initiates Probe into Franklin Templeton Fund Closures

06/05/2020

SEBI is reported looking to determine whether the firm violated rules, breached its fiduciary duty, or failed to act in investors’ best interests.

Payments & Settlements

ECB Seeks Further Guidance from SWIFT on ISO 20022 Delay

06/05/2020

The request follows a March decision by SWIFT’s Board to extend the original timeline for implementation of ISO 20022 for cross-border payments by one year to end-2022.

Anti-Money Laundering

Requirement to Lodge Company Controller Data with ACRA Deferred

06/05/2020

ACRA says the two-month deferral is the result of operational and resource constraints faced by registered filing agents, and potential difficulties obtaining consent from clients.

Conduct, Culture & Accountability

Taiwan FSC Warns Lenders Not to Overcharge for Covid-19 Loans

06/05/2020

The FSC will investigate banks that charge unreasonably high handling fees to circumvent the interest rate cap on relief loans.

Credit Risk

Hong Kong Set to Commence Fixed-rate Mortgage Pilot

06/05/2020

Under the six-month pilot scheme, participating banks will offer fixed-rate mortgage loans, capped at HK$10mn per loan transaction, and subject to a total aggregate cap of HK$1bn.

Capital Adequacy

BSP Approves Measures to Boost Lending to MSME Sector

06/05/2020

The measures include lower risk weights for MSME loans, deferred implementation of the revised risk-based capital framework, and an extension of the relief period for reporting past due and non-performing loans.