FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch – Page 34 – At the Crossroads of Law, Innovation and Commerce

Future of FinTech conference London

Oct 06 2017

At the Telegraph Future of FinTech conference in London on 28 September several regulatory-related themes emerged:

There will soon be more money outside the regulated environment rather than inside, the tipping point is approaching
Currencies are no longer the sole domain of sovereign countries and regulated central banks
Some regulators are competing to attract the industry to their jurisdiction and are generally agnostic about the technology used to deliver the financial service
Open Banking in the UK from 13 January 2018 will usher in a new era of transparency across a UK customer’s whole financial life
Brexit is not a major focus for the UK FinTech industry or its regulators, the biggest challenge is acquiring talent
Using vehicles such as IOSCO to promote regulator cooperation and cross-border regulation for FinTech; genuine common standards are a goal
Financial regulators in many countries are struggling to keep up with the industry due to high workload on other issues and limited resources
Talent is flowing between the industry and regulators
Artificial intelligence, blockchain, PropTech and ICOs were identified as the “hot” areas

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Abu Dhabi Global Market announce Memorandum of Understanding

Oct 06 2017

On 25 September, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial centre (IFC) in Abu Dhabi, via its Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB). The aim of the MoU is to seek opportunities to collaborate and consult on initiatives to promote the growth and development of the FinTech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Under its terms, ADIB will partner with the FSRA across a range of Islamic-compliant FinTech-related initiatives. This partnership adds to ADGM’s FinTech commitment through the Abu Dhabi Regulatory Laboratory (RegLab) — a regulatory framework that offers a controlled environment for FinTech innovators to develop and test their products and services with the regulator.

FinTech in Taiwan: Regulatory Efforts and the Need for Speed

Oct 03 2017

By Joseph P.Y. Tseng

To encourage financial services industry and the related industry to apply innovative technology for enhancing financial accessibility, practicability, and quality, on May 4, 2017, Taiwan’s Executive Yuan proposed the bill called “Financial Technology Innovation Experimentation Act” (the “Bill”) to create its version of “regulatory sandbox.” It would enable experimenting innovative financial technology within a well-defined space and duration under relaxed legal requirements.

To read our full alert, click here.

Gibraltar issues statement on initial coin offerings

Oct 03 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) issued a statement on initial coin offerings on 22 September. The GFSC has noticed the increasing use of tokens or coins based on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) as a means of raising finance, especially by early-stage start-ups. The sale of such tokens is often conducted using terms such as initial coin offering (ICO), token sale, initial token offering and the like.

A new regulatory framework for DLT will become operational in Gibraltar as from January 2018 and will regulate the activities of firms, operating in or from Gibraltar, that use DLT to store or transmit value belonging to others, such as virtual currency exchanges. Gibraltar is considering a complementary regulatory framework covering the promotion and sale of tokens, aligned with the DLT framework. In common with regulators around the world, the GFSC says that is continuing to monitor the use of unregulated tokens as a means of raising finance.

Marketplace lender seeking fair lending guidance receives CFPB’s first no-action letter

Sep 28 2017

By David D. Christensen, Jennifer Janeira Nagle and Brandon R. Dillman

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued its first no-action letter, pursuant to a policy designed to encourage innovation in the fintech marketplace by creating a testing ground for new technologies. If received, a no-action letter simply indicates that the CFPB “has no present intention to recommend initiation of an enforcement or supervisory action” against the applicant with respect to the specific product and regulatory concerns at issue.

What you need to know about capital raising with ICOs (Business Bytes video)

Sep 28 2017

There is a lot of noise surrounding capital raising with Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and there are updates almost daily from regulators around the globe. For instance, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released their views on ICOs today (see ‘ASIC releases its guidance on ICOs‘), while China has recently banned this new form of capital raising.

ASIC releases its guidance on ICOs

Sep 28 2017

By Jim Bulling and Felix Charlesworth

On 28 September 2017, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released Information Sheet 225 which provides its view on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and their application in relation to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

FCA’s Hong Kong Hat Trick of FinTech Cooperation Agreements

Sep 25 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has completed a hat trick of FinTech cooperation agreements with Hong Kong regulators by signing an agreement with the Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA). This adds to those agreements already signed by the FCA with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on which we have blogged in previous posts.

Contributions to European Commission Public Consultation on FinTech

Sep 25 2017

By Giovanni Campi and Ignasi Guardans

The European Commission (EC) has published the summary of contributions to its ‘Public Consultation on FinTech: a more competitive and innovative European financial sector’. The consultation, conducted in spring 2017, sought stakeholders’ input to further develop the EC’s approach towards technological innovation in financial services. More than 200 respondents provided their views on FinTech’s legal, regulatory and policy aspects.

Respondents favoured a European Union (EU) policy approach to FinTech guided by the principles of technological neutrality, proportionality and integrity, as well as “same service, same risk, same rule” to ensure a level playing field among market players. The need to maintain an open dialogue between regulators, supervisors and the industry was emphasised. Most respondents expressed broad support for an EU framework for crowdfunding and peer-to-peer financing and convergence across the EU on how supervisors handle licencing, outsourcing, and support for innovation (e.g. innovation hubs).

Malaysia signs a series of cooperation agreements

Sep 25 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

On 14 September the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) announced that it has signed a series of FinTech cooperation agreements with several regulators in major financial centres. The SC has established FinTech bridges with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This follows the first agreement signed between the SC and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in June 2017.