Politics, Legal & Regulation

September 15, 2017 @ 6:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued its first no action letter to online letter Upstart. At the time of the request by Upstart, the online lender had facilitated over 80,000 loans totaling over $1 billion ranging from $1,000 to $50,000 with a term of… Read More

September 15, 2017 @ 6:14 pm By Tom Grant  |  

Bank lending regulations have rarely been thought of as dynamic or exciting but last night’s ruling by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to allow a lender to begin using alternative data in their underwriting could herald the beginning of a new era in lending… Read More

September 15, 2017 @ 11:27 am By JD Alois  |  

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is out with a report responding to feedback on their Innovation Hub and Regtech in general. ASIC sought feedback on their overall approach and establishing a new Regtech liaison group. ASIC received 19 responses from Fintech businesses and technology companies,… Read More

September 15, 2017 @ 9:22 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Senate has passed several key pieces of legislation that boost access to capital and help startups and small businesses. All three bills received broad bipartisan support. While the bills were quickly passed via a voice vote in the Senate, the bills received heavy… Read More

September 14, 2017 @ 5:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week the Australian Parliament introduced new legislation that will extend crowdfunding or “crowdsourced equity funding” (as the Aussies call it) to private companies. This is an important fix that will create a far more robust and equitable crowdfunding ecosystem in Australia. Earlier this year,… Read More

September 14, 2017 @ 9:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday the final meeting of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies (ACSEC) took place in Washington, DC. ACSEC, launched in 2011, will now transition over to the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee – an entity with a similar… Read More

September 14, 2017 @ 7:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has released a statement on the recently signed cooperation agreements with major financial centers. These “Fintech bridges” are described as a move to spur greater cooperation in facilitating and regulating innovations emerging within the digital finance industry. Recently, SC has established… Read More

September 13, 2017 @ 2:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

There is a lot going on in the cryptocurrency driven Initial Coin Offering market today. In recent weeks, national regulators have acknowledged the existence of tokenized funding rounds along with the fact that many are really securities and thus regulated. The US Securities and Exchange… Read More

September 12, 2017 @ 11:22 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a consumer warning regarding Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). The FCA’s actions are similar to multiple national jurisdictions that have published warnings, or in the case of China – simply shut them down altogether. As for whether or not… Read More

September 12, 2017 @ 11:03 am By JD Alois  |  

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) have entered into an agreement to cooperate in the development of Fintech.  According to both parties, this agreement reflects efforts by both authorities to provide a robust regime that fosters financial innovation in the… Read More

September 11, 2017 @ 7:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

So the other shoe has apparently dropped in China. Following a ban on Initial Coin Offerings, reportedly Chinese officials will ban all crypto-exchanges thus impacting the trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum and all other digital coins. This is according to a report in WSJ.com that cites… Read More

September 10, 2017 @ 3:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, the Bank of England published a staff working paper entitled, “Competition and prudential regulation”. The document is the work of Paul Fisher, former Deputy Head of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Executive Director for Supervisory Risk and Regulatory Operations, and Paul A Grout,… Read More

September 8, 2017 @ 1:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has publicly requested the creation of a Fintech Sandbox in his state. Brnovich published his belief in an OpEd for American Banker. Brnovich is of the opinion that Arizona should be the first state to create a Sandbox as it… Read More

September 8, 2017 @ 12:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), a regulatory body that has been quite forward thinking when it comes to Fintech innovation, has published a statement on Initial Coin Offerings or ICOs. SC cautions investors on participating in ICOs or token sales noting that some may be securities,… Read More

September 8, 2017 @ 9:26 am By JD Alois  |  

The United Kingdom and Singapore has held their third UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue in Singapore today (September 8).  According to information provided by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the two countries exchanged views on domestic and international financial market developments and covered a broad range of… Read More

September 7, 2017 @ 9:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday the House of Representatives approved the Improving Access to Capital Act (HR 2864), legislation that will expand the usage of Regulation A+, a securities exemption that has gained in popularity for smaller firms. The legislation was sponsored by Representative Kyrsten Sinema. Reg A+ was… Read More

September 7, 2017 @ 8:54 am By JD Alois  |  

The House Financial Services Committee, Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee, held a hearing yesterday to analyze strategies to combat financial backing of lone-wolf and small-scale terrorist attacks. As part of the discussion the usage of using cryptocurrencies as a method for transferring funds was addressed…. Read More

September 7, 2017 @ 8:36 am By JD Alois  |  

  The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has scheduled the next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies (ACSEC) to take place on September 13.  As part of the agenda, ACSEC will discuss the Sarbanes-Oxley Act auditor attestation requirement and explore whether… Read More

September 6, 2017 @ 10:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has announced the first registration of an investment fund manager in Canada solely dedicated to cryptocurrency investments. The approval by the BCSC was described as a landmark event. The BCSC granted First Block Capital Inc. registration as an investment… Read More

September 6, 2017 @ 12:25 am By JD Alois  |  

Hong Kong has released a statement on the use of initial coin offerings (ICOs) warning issuers and platforms alike that certain ICOs may be deemed securities and thus fall under existing securities laws. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said it has noticed an increase in… Read More