All Europe articles – Page 74
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Blog
FCA advises on new EU Market Abuse Regulation
The Financial Conduct Authority has published changes to its handbook, “Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules,” to help U.K.-listed companies comply with new EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) from 3 July this year. The handbook and MAR cover a very wide range of “market abuse” issues, such as insider dealing, improper ...
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Blog
FCA must not drop the ball on banking culture reforms
The U.K. Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee has issued a report that is not only deeply critical of the FCA’s decision to suspend its culture review of banks but also warns of “serious risks” of future mis-selling scandals. Paul Hodgson examines the report’s impact on U.K. bank culture.
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BlogOECD: More countries commit to tackle tax evasion
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has announced that Bahrain, Lebanon, Nauru, Panama, and Vanuatu are now committed to sharing financial account information automatically with other countries. Jaclyn Jaeger has more.
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BlogFRC: What investors should expect in company records
Stephen Haddrill, chief executive of the U.K.’s Financial Reporting Council, wrote a letter to investors highlighting recent changes to companies’ annual reports and advising investors on what to expect in the coming crop. The report is “intended to be an important source of forward-looking information about strategy and risk,” he ...
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New EU auditor rotation rules have auditors playing musical chairs
Are companies ready for new EU-wide auditor rules coming in June? A survey commissioned by Big Four firm EY of 100 senior-level executives and non-executives in the FTSE 350 finds that while a majority, 83 percent, understands the rotation rules, only 42 percent have a plan in place. More than ...
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Blog
Complying with Brexit
As the United Kingdom gets ever closer to withdrawing from the European Union, no small amount of economic turmoil and compliance headaches are sure to follow. For compliance officers at companies doing business in Europe and the United Kingdom, the possibility of a Brexit provides the sort of job security ...
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How to stop banks from behaving like banks
In the never-ending quest to address the systemic risk posed by the banking industry, a team of academics and the Banking Standards Board have raised fresh initiatives to improve banking regulation itself. But are a globally imposed “risk tax” and a push to improve banking culture really what banks need?
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Article
Women on U.K. boards: A (partial) success story
Corporate boards across the United Kingdom continue to have low numbers of women on them, suggesting that the struggle to increase board diversity is going slower than planned. But progress is indeed being made, all while raising the difficult questions as to why it is not so easy to build ...
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Blog
EU rule on derivative contracts aims for financial stability
Image: The European Commission has adopted a new set of rules that requires certain over-the-counter credit derivative contracts to be cleared through central counterparties. The rules implement a clearing obligation under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation for credit default swaps. “[The] decision marks another step towards making good on our ...
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Article
Gender pay gap reporting in the United Kingdom
The draft regulations on reporting statistics outlining the potential gender pay gap at U.K. companies were published in early February this year, and reactions to the regulations have on the whole been positive, says Jillian Naylor, employment partner at U.K. law firm Linklaters. Inside, CW’s Paul Hodgson provides an in-depth ...
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Blog
Under Single Resolution Mechanism, EU banks get bail-in
The European Union’s Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM), part of a larger post-financial crisis initiative known as the Bank Recovery and Resolution Drive (BRRD), has recently received further implementation. The advancement of SRM means that banks must have recovery plans, but EU-level authorities can intervene if they sense a bank is ...
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Blog
Broadridge expands analytics capabilities across Europe
Broadridge Financial Solutions this month announced that it has enhanced its corporate governance solution offering in Europe by taking a minority stake and entering into an exclusive distribution and marketing alliance with AMA Partners. AMA is a Netherlands-based firm and provider of DirectorInsight, an analytics platform that offers data and ...
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Blog
€30 million for cup of tea? Good work if you can get it
FCPA blogger Tom Fox looks at an unfolding scandal that involves a murdered Mongolian paramour, a contract for submarines, embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razik, middleman Abdul Razak Baginda, and the most lucrative cup of tea in recent memory.
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Blog
First British DPA Provides Much to Ponder
It has finally come to pass: the first deferred-prosecution agreement under the U.K. Bribery Act. From the role of judicial oversight (greater than that in the United States) to the final statement of facts (much greater than that in the United States), the settlement with ICBC Standard Bank is full ...
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Blog
RBS and StanChart on BoE Stress Tests: Resiliency is key
The Bank of England (BoE) recently released the results of its latest round of stress tests, which involved seven of the biggest U.K. lenders. While some of the banks emerged from the tests relatively unscathed, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered fell below the minimum capital requirements needed to ...
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Blog
Regulator Calls on ECB to Tighten Its Rules of Engagement
Image: The European Central Bank’s transparency woes continue as Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly is urging the central bank to build a robust rules of engagement practice by putting a stop to banker meetings ahead of setting policy. O’Reilly said ECB officials should not give investors any advantage over rivals prior to ...
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Blog
Should the FCPA Apply to International Sports Agencies?
Image: What’s happening with the intersection of sports and corruption? It seems as if several pillars of the international sporting world have come crashing down in the past few months through corruption scandals. Yet the FCPA usually does not apply in these corruption cases. Why? Tom Fox, our man from ...
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Blog
Bankers Still Overpaid Despite Poor Performance
Deutsche Bank Chief Executive John Cryan said earlier this week that bonuses don’t necessarily make bankers work harder; instead some employees feel that they are entitled to an outsized incentive despite bad performance. Cryan’s message come weeks after a warning was issued at Deutsche Bank about rewarding staff with new-year ...
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Blog
Tax Evasion Problems at VW “Not Small”
German investigators have launched a new criminal probe into Volkswagen (VW) in light of the automaker’s recent emissions scandal. Prosecutors are examining five suspects who might be involved in this investigation.An Irish Times report said that prosecutors in Braunschweig are now investigating tax evasion allegations at the scandal-ridden German automaker. ...
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Blog
Jumping on the VW Amnesty Microbus
Image: Last week Volkswagen offered amnesty to employees who admit any role they played in the emissions-testing scandal currently wracking the company—no doubt drawing upon the success Siemens had when it made a similar offer to employees during a 2006 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation. Opinions differ on the move, ...